Posted by Lisa Laree to Beer Lahai Roi
Does anyone besides me read Proverbs 31 and wonder when on earth that lady had her Quiet Time??? I see head-spinning busyness in that passage...but no 'sit down and spend time with God' allotment....
I've struggled with setting aside time for study and reflection on a regular basis. My best time is in the evening, when everyone else is in bed and the house is quiet,when I'm not fretting about what I'm not doing, when I'm reasonably awake (if I could live life by my internal clock, I'd probably go to bed around 1:30 or 2 am and sleep till 10ish...but, the rest of the world doesn't run that way, so I fight that inclination.) But, My Sweet Baboo IS a Morning Person, which means he is NOT a Night Owl, which means he likes to retire for the evening right after the young 'uns are settled. Now, I'm just going to say that I would be a very unwise wife to stay up to commune with God every evening, so I can't schedule my Quiet Time in my preferred time slot.
It has worked somewhat during summer vacations in the past to do a designated Quiet Time from, say, 9:30 - 10 every morning. I called the kids in, told them it was time to read their Bibles and write in their journals and set the timer and we all found a spot to do that. But when I'm home alone and don't have to set aside that time for EVERYONE, I tell myself things like 'I'll throw this load in the laundry and then I'll sit down' and suddenly, while throwing the load in the laundry, I'll realize I've got to get a check out in the mail that very day, and that leads to noticing the mess on the computer desk and starting to clear it away...and while I'm here, I'll just check my email real quick...oh, there's something that needs a response...and so goes the morning and then the day and I've not sat down with my Word.
In our monthly Night of Worship this past Sunday, I really felt like I heard God instruct me to get up at 5 AM and spend time with Him. And so far this week, I've gotten up and read and journaled...barely keeping my eyes open. My journal writing is a semi-legible scrawl. I'm not sure I'm getting anything out of it other than the discipline of obedience, but even if that's the only benefit I'll see for the time being I'm determined to be obedient.
And maybe when school is out in a couple of weeks I'll be released to do Quiet Time with the kids again... ;)
Maybe that's part of the " . . . riseth early while it is yet night and giveth meat to her household and a portion to her maidens."? Hope that's right, I'm typing it from memory, that and yes, you can see the KJV, there.;) Meat could be literally understood as food for the body, but maybe it also means spiritual food, too? We must feed the spirit daily, too. Just a thought.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Summerset, that's about the only place it could be. But it's pretty abstract.
ReplyDeleteAnd that bit about rising while it was yet night always has made me wince! LOL
That is SO me too!!! I need to work on this. I am a NIGHT person and Mark is a MORNING person...I sleep up until the VERY LAST MINUTE I CAN!!! Hopefully one day I will have overcome this and have a little discipline in my life to get up. Maybe when the two little ones go to school...I will be able to!! :) See you tonight!!
ReplyDeleteBuffi
Yeah, that was a bit obtuse, wasn't it? I'll blame it on a really bad sinus infection that blocked my brainwaves - I'm surprised I taught Mon. and Tues.!
ReplyDeleteAnyway, another verse did come to mind. This is a bit more direct and obvious. Even Jesus had to get up early to pray: Mark 1:35.
Oh, yes, and He stayed up all night praying sometimes, too. There's tons of verses about the benefits of early morning prayer time; I just wondered when the Proverbs 31 lady managed to squeeze it in! The only possible reference to it, specific to her, is the one about her rising early and giving portions to her serving girls...(serving girls! LOL)
ReplyDeleteAnyway, I'm still scrawling away at 5. ;)