AlarmClock

OK girls, I know how difficult it is to keep an early morning quiet time. Some days, it is just too cold and dark to get out of bed. Some days, you’re too tired. You say, “Just five more minutes,” and that turned into 50 minutes. Some days, it is because the kids were up all night.

What to do?

We all resist the prompting of the alarm clock, until we finally throw back the covers, and set our warm tooties down on that cold hard floor. We are truly creatures of habit and if our habit is to sleep until the last possible minute, we will certainly have to put forth a tremendous amout of energy to change that.

What we need is what Alan Redpath used to call “blanket victory”! Here are a few words of encouragement from my heart to yours.

  1. Remember that it takes time to form a new discipline! I’m told that it takes 21 days for brain circuits to produce new neuroconnections and neuropathways. Our brains have trouble accepting new data unless it is repeated daily for a period of time. That is a highly technical information way of saying, be patient and don’t give up! In simple terms, there is a learning curve for our brains to settle into a new discipline.
  2. When you mess up (and you certainly won’t be the only one!) and your plan to have that early morning quiet time is interrupted, don’t give up so easily. During the day, ask the Lord for another opportunity to be still to read the Word and pray. Baby’s nap time, your lunch break, even the wait in the doctor’s office or the DMV can be a good Plan B. Keep a pocket Bible in your purse. Some of you are even able to read the Bible on your cell phones.
  3. Don’t ever give up. Just start again. If you miss a day or two or three, for whatever reason, just begin again the very next day.
  4. And finally, remember that our motive for having a quiet time should never ever be trying to earn brownie points with the Lord. Don’t ever forget that we are are perfectly accepted by our Heavenly Father, not because of what we do or have done. We are already accepted in the Beloved, and all your hours of devotion cannot add one smidgen more to the love He has for you!

So what do you say? Let me know how it goes!