Food on Friday: Feed on the Word

After reading this article posted on The Gospel Coalition, from Desiring God's blog about making the most of one's morning , I was challenged and encouraged to think about my daily 'food' intake. With the rush of hormones that cause a pregnant woman to be hungry at all times, I have begun to think about the necessity of being always hungry for a helping of God's Word.

When I was in college, I routinely went to bed earlier than most, and got up in the morning earlier than most (thankfully my roommate junior year was the same way). I enjoyed this more and more in the latter years of college, as my taste for the Scriptures grew and as my schedule became increasingly demanding. I would characterize my college days as a whirlwind of activities, punctuated by precious times spent with the people that I love: Chance, my dear friends, and my church family. To put it simply: I was always on the go. This meant that the alone time that I had in the early mornings (usually waking between 6:30 and 7:00a.m.) was priceless to me -- I needed it to stay refreshed and have energy to take on the day. So I made it a habit. My senior year, I was married, and having to adjust to a new routine. Chance is also an "early to bed, early to rise"-type, lucky for me, so our schedules have always worked very well together. I begun waking (most days) when he would in order to spend some time with the Lord while Chance did the same. That year was a dream because I was in school full-time and had benefit of a lot of free time. I would spend a lot of time reading, praying, and running in the mornings, and I loved it.

Fast forward a year or so to right now. I work full-time, while Chance is in school full-time. I work 8:00 to 4:30p.m. Monday through Friday. I come home and cook dinner every night. We serve our church two nights a week. Life has changed, we are still busy. Now more than ever, I covet that free time I had every morning during my senior year . There are some days that I don't want to get out of bed because I am just plain exhausted. There are other days when I jump out of bed, ready to get in the Word. It seems that as life changes, the busyness never truly goes away and so I am learning to adjust. I am learning to give myself grace and recognize that I am not earning anything by spending my morning reading my Bible. I am learning to rest in the Lord, and enjoy His presence.

The article that I mentioned above is simply an encouragement to make your soul "happy in God" by refreshing it with a generous helping of the Scriptures. Whether that is first thing in the morning, or late in the day, we should all heed the advice of letting the Word saturate our souls. David talks about this, in Psalm 63, where he says, "My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food, and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips, when I remember you upon my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night.." (vv. 5-6) So on this Friday afternoon, let God's steadfast love which is better than life (Ps. 63:3) satisfy your soul as food does your palette. Enjoy your weekend! I am off to Florida!