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Another New Beginning
Rise and shine! ....out of bed, Sleepyhead! It's a new day - a new
morning!
But, I have to tell you. I dread those words - rise and shine (...or,
out of bed!) - 'cause I am just NOT a morning person. Those words
are definitely NOT music to my ears! But, speaking of music, did you
know that there are many songs and other references to mornings ... and
they all contain such good thoughts about this thing called mornings.
...“Oh, what a beautiful MORNIN’! Oh, what a beautiful day! I got
a beautiful feelin’, everything’s goin’ my way!” ...and what
about, “Good MORNING Star shine (the sun?), the Earth says Hello!”
(...and that song even goes on to say that we’re going to “sing
our early morning singing song”!) . Just who wants to sing about
mornings anyway ...much less IN the morning?! ...and then there's“Start your day fresh ...” (...cereal commercial?....or soap?)
...or has anyone ever said to you, “My, you look bright-eyed and
bushy-tailed this morning!”? What exactly does that mean anyway? I do believe that one should just be reserved for the little animals!
Mornings! Usually awoken (...awoken?) by an alarm clock! And, what an
alarming sound to be awakened by! True? But, I have to tell you. I
play games with my alarm clock. Do you? ...you know, where you set the
alarm clock way early to get up and get started “fresh” only to hit
that SNOOZE button ( ...had to be a night owl kind of person who
invented that button, don't you think?!) But that beloved snooze
button! ...which you just have to hit at least 4-5 more times to get
that extra “10 minutes” of sleep ... so that if you intended on
getting up at the crack of dawn you wake up in a full panic at least 45
minutes later than your good intentions. NOT fun! ...but, there is
something to be said about that extra 10 minutes! Sometimes it is
absolutely the best sleep you get all night long. I mean I can stay up‘til all hours of the night ... wide awake ... don’t want to miss a
thing! But early in the morning? What an effort! I could even mourn
some mornings! But, my intentions are always good and set on“early”, but that snooze button just calls my name and draws
me right to it ... over and over again! Is it worth it? Mostly not
because inevitably there was some reason I was planning on getting up so
early to begin with. But, I seem to always be running behind or in a
rush, and “fashionably late” has become my middle name. I believe,
though, that apparently it’s a matter of priorities and getting them
in order. ... I’m going to start in the morning!
I tell you truly though, on the occasions (albe-them rare) that I do
get up at first "buzz", I am so rewarded with such a peace and quiet
that I know I can literally feel the absolute presence of my sweet Lord
surrounding me! There is nothing like that “quiet time”. You feel
totally concentrated, totally aware, totally prayerful, totally thankful,
totally in awe! It is the absolute best time to get in tune from the
Word of God and hear what He has to "whisper” in your ear (Isaiah
30:21), hear how He wants to speak to your heart, see how He wants to
use your “earthen vessel” (2 Corinthians 4:7) this the first day of
the rest of your life. It’s as though all - and I do mean ALL - of
the rest of the world is peacefully sound asleep and it’s just you and
God awake and tenderly talking things over and sharing all kinds of
thoughts and secrets (He “knows the secrets” of our hearts ... Psalm
44:21). Just the two of us in the whole world!
I once read this poem
by a John Clare
Still there is joy that will not cease,
Calm hovering o’er the face of
things,
That sweet tranquility and peace
That morning ever brings.
Oh, it is that awesome kind of feeling, and every single day that I
have forced myself out of that cozy bed and into that kitchen or den, I
have seen the results of that “early morning” all day long. No
matter what I face, I seem to be able to do it much calmer, much easier,
and certainly much more confidently when I start my day off with the
Lord. It’s like He’s just awaitin’ on me, and when I enter that
room, it’s as if He says “Good morning, Sunshine (...that’s me!).
You did it!”…and oh, how He just blesses me because of it! He blesses
my heart, my mind, my body and my soul! Thank you, Lord! So, why in
the world would I not jump right up as that sun rises every single
morning? It’s a crazy thing, isn't it?! Sometimes, we just cannot
explain it nor can we be explained. Priorities! That just has to be
it.
This morning’s acrostic:
D - DELIGHT!
Psalm 90:14 “O satisfy us in the morning with Thy
lovingkindness (unfailing love), that we may sing for joy and be glad
all our days.” We do not know what a “day” holds for us (Proverbs
27:1), but it sounds like to me if we “wake up” to the Lord every
morning we have the potential to be delighted ("glad") all the rest of
the day because even when that day tries to turn sour, we know for
certain Who we can turn back to because we know “from whence our
strength cometh” (...just like the song sings and the Psalms say) -
our strength comes from the Lord! (Psalm 28:7; Psalm 62:7; Psalm 118:14)
Psalm 37:4-5 “Delight yourself in
the Lord; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your
way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” Man! I do not want to miss out on that kind of a promise!
A - AWARE! We need to be made aware ...and it starts in the A.M.
Psalm
143:8 “Let me hear Thy lovingkindness in the morning; for I trust in
Thee; teach me the way in which I should walk; for to Thee I lift my
soul.”
Psalm 55:16-18 “As for me, I shall
call upon God, and the Lord will save me. Evening and morning and at
noon, I will complain and murmur, and He will hear my voice. He will
redeem my soul in peace from the battle which is against me, for they
are many who strive with me.”
Sounds to me like an ALL-DAY kind of
thing, so let’s be sure to start our mornings off on the right track.“The best part of waking up....” (...coffee??) - is JESUS by my side!
W - WAKE UP!
Psalm 118:24 “This is the day which the Lord has made.
Let us rejoice and be glad in it.”
You know, the mere fact that we
even wake up each morning tells us that God just isn’t quite finished
with us. A new beginning every single morning. It’s a miracle,
isn’t it?! I read once, “We are a miracle in the making”, to
which I add ...EVERY SINGLE DAY!
Lamentations 3:22-23 "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, His
mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is Thy
faithfulness."
Thank You, Lord, indeed!
N - NOISE!
That’s what we need to make in the morning - a JOYFUL
noise!(...and lots of it too!).
Psalm 98:4 “Make a JOYFUL NOISE unto the Lord,
all the Earth; make a loud noise, and rejoice, and sing praise.” (See also Psalm 66:1-4 and Psalm 100:1-2.)
DAWN!..... the “crack of”, that is!
That’s when we need to start
our day. ...and I just want to encourage you to take a couple of looks
at that sky as it awakens because so many times we get an extra reward
of the most beautiful and breathtaking God-sky of a sunrise you've
ever seen. You’re going to want to wake up the whole house and say,“Would you just come look at this?!” AWESOME!
Job 38:12 “Have
you ever in your life commanded the morning, and caused the dawn to know
its place?” (...that would be God speaking!)
Psalm 19:1 “The
heavens are telling of the glory of God; and their expanse is declaring
the work of His hands.”.... and
Psalm 89:5 “And the heavens will
praise Thy wonders, O Lord; Thy faithfulness also in the assembly of the
holy ones.”
Revelation 22:16 “I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you
these things for the churches. I am the root and the offspring of
David, the bright morning star.”
Let’s get our day started with our eyes on that Bright Morning Star!
I have heard this saying many times in my life - "When you snooze, you
lose!" ...don't want to do that so, Get on up, you sleepy-eyed
bed-head! Oh, and, here’s a cheer (...the return of my youth!)
For our morning routine - something to chant as we throw ourselves out of that bed -
Get yourself -
outta bed!
Get yourself -
outta bed!
Seek the Lord -
go get fed!
Get on up -
you sleepyhead!
....now YOU do it! (....and, as I would say to my children when they were little, with some umphh, too!)
Get yourself -
outta bed!
Get yourself -
outta bed!
Seek the Lord -
go get fed!
Get on up -
you sleepyhead!
Well! ...talk about being bright-eyed and bushy-tailed!!
Up and at ‘em!....and a great, big GOOD MORNING to you, too!
Blessings!
Kelli
