postaday2011

Groggy at 5 AM

So here I am, up since 4 AM because I must have mistakenly set my clock an hour ahead. As my family sleeps, I am quietly contemplating what to write about in my 10 minutes this morning. For me, this 10 minutes is more than a prayer, it’s a commitment to God that I will share something meaningful to me with respect to faith and inspiration.

For me, hunger is the first thing on my mind when I wake up in the wee hours of the morning. Finding something to eat drives me to wake up and to start my day. Before I settle down to eat, I usually also mutter a quick prayer of thanks. That’s how my day begins… a modest meal and a word of thanks.

How does your day begin? What are the first things that enter your mind as you stir through the morning grogginess? Where does God fit into the picture of your most deliberate actions? What I love about the early morning hours is a feeling of strength and resolve. Here I am, up before the rest of the world, preparing for the day ahead. I am ahead of schedule and it makes me feel like I can afford to take some time out and reflect on the Lord and his daily plan for me.

I read an archived blog post from passionatespirituality.com, which had a quick prayer that I think is appropriate for my start today: “God, show me what you are doing today, and how I can be a part of it.” I think it’s a perfect sentiment to ask for a moment of clarity and inspiration… and to be guided by it into the context of God’s plan for us and the world around us. God bless and have a wonderful day!

It’s Good to Ask God

Verse for the Day: 1 Samuel 15:22

What Items would you like to pray about each day? How might you create a time to pray regularly?

Daily prayer, is all about preparing our needs and routinely asking for our intentions and guidance. When fitted into a daily schedule it may seem like just a routine, like brushing teeth, preparing breakfast or shaving, but programmed into this practice is a sense of duty. It is that sense of duty that brings us closer to God because within it is obedience… as in today’s verse, “to obey is better than sacrifice” when it comes to our choice in how to serve the Lord.

Taking the Time

Ten minutes in a hectic schedule can even be very difficult to muster. Still I must be a good steward with the time God has afforded me in this life.

In the early life of the Hebrews, it was a common practice that after every harvest or immediately after an animal was slaughtered, a portion of that “gift” from God was set aside and burned or sacrificed in offering of thanks to the Lord, our provider. The important thing to note from this anecdote is that the offering of thanks was made BEFORE anyone dug in and helped themselves to eat or partake of the food.

And so it is with our time.

We live meaningful, busy lives and yet we still wonder why at the end of every exhausting day we are left spent and unable to muster the time or the strength to pray, read scripture, write inspirational/religious blog entries or to meditate over everything that God has provided for us. When we slaughter our time-clock each day, we should set aside our piece of time for God FIRST.

This suggestion isn’t intended out of guilt. On the contrary, it is intended to be a source of inspiration and change in your life. The moment that you put God FIRST in your life is the moment you say YES to something more meaningful, fulfilling and also God centered. Even after four years of trying to do this, I can’t put to words how wonderful a feeling it is when I started doing that.

In an attempt to resurrect this blog, which has exemplified this quest for a God centered and focused life, I want it to be an inspiration to all readers to know that it begins with 10 minutes. Where it goes from there can only shine even brighter in this world for all to see. God has provided many ways for us to shine. Let’s make that happen in 2011.

Peace, Love and Prosperity.