This Spoke to Me....

Lysa TerKeurst

1d ·

I know how tempting it can be to grab our phones to check social media and the news first thing in the morning. Especially right now when there's so much going on in our world.

But there's something vital I've learned over the years when it comes to how I start my day. When I wake up, my mind is like a dry sponge. What I soak up first will saturate me most deeply. If I don’t want to be consumed with the stresses of my day, I must soak up what will renew my mind instead: God’s Word. Even if it’s only for 5 minutes, I’ve got to put the world on hold until I’ve checked in with God!

Before we go to bed tonight, let’s ask God to wake us up every morning in this coming week to read the Bible first thing. Let’s decide right now that before checking in on the world… we'll check in with God’s life-giving truths.

 

 This spoke to me when I read it on FB the other day.  I do grab my phone first thing when I wake up.  I check the messages, then I check FB.  I always tell myself that doing this is like my grandparents and my folks used to do with reading the newspaper.  We don't receive the newspaper anymore, not that there is much TO receive, and I don't turn on the news (mainly because I don't want to listen to the gloom and doom that they spread).  Checking FB gives me an idea of what 'my people' are up to.

But it IS a bad habit.  I don't like it, but I can't seem to pull myself away from it.  I do know that I am stressed out when I wake up, scared, checking my forehead to be sure I have no temperature. I re-trace what we have done recently and places we have been and whether we used our hand sanitizer or not (and I know that we did because I have been through the same scenarios so many times).  Then I am tense and dread the day and what MIGHT happen.  At night it is ever worse.  

So I was glad to read Lysa's post and decided that I was going to try this.

Day 1

So far, so good.

I was awake and dressed in my leggings and t-shirt at 6:30.  When I sat in the recliner, I grabbed the Jesus Calling book that Nancy Smith had given me several years ago as a Christmas gift.  I turned to August 18 (didn't realize until later that I had read tomorrow's devotion this morning), read it, and was amazed at how pertinent the words were for what was happening today.  I found a blank page in one of the journals that I brought home from Mom's house (and Tessa had already colored or written on some of the pages) and wrote a little bit about what I had read and the scriptures.  

 

 

Next I wrote a note in the card for Darlene Mellon.  She is facing a serious health issue and I am trying to send her at least one card each week. 

Finally---prayer.  

And you know.... when I went outside to weed the flower bed by the deck, I felt SO much better.  I felt energized.  I knew that God had this whole thing---the pandemic, the election, the division of our country.  He knows what He is doing, and I don't need to worty about it.

It was good for me to do this today.

I need for it to become a habit.

It spoke to me.

I just need to check the date more closely!