Time...First Time...Early Time

Time...First Time...Early Time

That is the theme of Elizabeth George in the first chapter of her book, "Life Management for Busy Women" which I just began reading for the second time. What is she referring to? Reading God's Word daily.

First we need to make time. Because to lead a fruitful life, we must be connected to God (see John 15:4-5). And the easiest way to stay connected to God is through His own inspired Word, the bible.

Next we need to give God our FIRST time. Just as Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops," we must honor the Lord with the firstfruits of the time in our day, as well.

And we need to make sure that these first moments of our day are EARLY time. The bible gives us plenty of examples of men of God seeking God early in the day. Abraham - Genesis 19:27 , David - Psalm 5:3, and even Jesus himself - Mark 1:35.

I want to live a life that makes a difference. I know that *I* can't do that on my own; that will only happen through God's power. For God to be able to use me, I need to stay connected to Him and the best way to do this is by communing with Him first thing, early in the morning through reading His Word and prayer. This is not a new concept for me.

Over the past 10 years or so, I have really tried to find a time in my day to commit to bible study and prayer. With small children in the house, this is no easy task! When I would get up early, they would get up early and feel the need to talk to me non-stop. I would try during afternoon naptime, only to struggle to keep my mind focused because I was in the midst of my day and there were a million things from my mental "to do" list floating around in my head. I tried to seek God through His Word in the evening after the children were in bed only to discover that I was just plain exhausted and had difficulty staying awake.

The only time in my day that I have been successful with is first thing EARLY in the morning before everyone is awake. Right now, my goal is to be awake between 5 and 6am. I get completely cleaned up and dressed (learned that from Flylady), make my coffee, and sit down to have some quiet time with God. After years of doing this, my body's internal clock wakes me early AND my children know that if they get up early, to leave me alone. I may have to remind them that I am having my quiet time, but they have learned that I am in a much better humor if they let me be to have that time. ;) I know that 5am sounds terribly early, but you have to do what you have to do. For another example of an early riser, check out Laine's Letters. I believe she gets up by 4am!

The only other struggle I have with trying to have my quiet time is that because I am such a computer geek, I love to do my bible studying at the computer. I am a big fan of the Bible Gateway site. It is wonderful to be able read a passage of the bible in another version with just a click of a mouse button. BUT because of this, it is SO easy to get tempted to read a couple of e-mails or visit a favorite site BEFORE I commune with God. I am recommiting to my special early time with God. I have the words, "Time...First Time...Early Time" posted by my desk to remind myself that God deserves my firstfruits of my time.

I don't know how many out there reading this feel this same way. Do you struggle making your life one of purpose? Will you do this with me? I am committing to reading God's Word first before I read anything else in a day. I will do everything in my power to set aside the early portion of my day for God and communicating with Him. I really hope that you reading this will join me. I am praying that you will!