Okay, so I might have gotten a little too ambitious on the whole blogging thing when it comes to the Bible challenge. Although I have done my readings every day and have had quite a few personal insights, I just don't have the time to write about them on a regular basis. Nap time (the only "me" time of the day) doesn't necessarily equal a lot of leisure computer time lately, so I am extremely limited in what I can reasonably accomplish. Writing (especially profound thoughts) takes a lot of time and effort. I think that's why I did not enjoy writing papers in High School/College. (I guess I'm lazy!) I definitely have a renewed appreciation for people who write for a living. My nature is such that I can not do a half-hearted job, so under the current constraints we will have to settle for sporadic thoughts. :o)
With all that being said, I believe one of the biggest lessons I've learned so far is that spending time in the Word first thing in the morning does more for the attitude than anything. In the past, I've heard the comment a lot that "if I don't do my quiet time I know I'm going to have a bad day." The flip side assumes that if I do take time in the morning I'm going to have a great day! That has often been the case when I've done sporadic things in the past. However, we live in a broken world and having a regular quiet time does not equal a perfect day!
I've decided that having a regular devotional time in the morning gives you the clear option of what kind of attitude you're going to have for the day. For instance, on Friday at the end of the day when someone asked me how my day went I said, "Would you like the "half empty" version or the "half full" version?" I could have given a long answer explaining exactly how my day went from each viewpoint and you would have never guessed it was the same day! At certain points during the day I was definitely in the "half empty" camp and feeling a bit sorry for myself. (Have you ever enjoyed reveling in your own misery?!? ;o) However, by the end of the day I could see more good than bad. It was definitely all about attitude.
So back to my original thought--it is not about the specific circumstances of the day, it is all about attitude. And attitude is an option. Everyday. Multiple times a day. How's your attitude today?
It just so happens that I have been reading the Psalms for the past month or so (I'm about 1/2 way through). If I were to summarize them I would do it with two main points: 1. God is awesome! 2. Where are you God? After chuckling for a moment (because these two points can happen back to back in the same line and seem to be quite repetitive) I realized that if I were to write poetry/music about God, I'd probably say the same thing. I guess that's the emotional side of me. Well, that's my two cents. Hopefully I will finish the Psalms by the end of October and will be able to provide more deep thoughts.
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