Yes, there are trials every day. He said there would be. Today was no
exception. But it is incredible to walk through a day with Him as your
Guide. I lovingly call Him the Master of My Moments.
"I have been crucified with Christ: it is no longer I who live, but
Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by
faith in the Son of God, Who loved me and gave Himself for me." Galations
2:20
Thank you all so much for praying for me concerning my two speaking
engagements. They went very well. Was I nervous? Yes. I liken speaking to
giving birth. I look so forward to the baby, but it's the delivery I
dread. ~Smile~ But this is the amazing thing. Once I start to speak and
His Word is before me, I find myself settling down and at rest. I am so
familiar with His Precious Word that it is my dearest Friend right there
with me, speaking through me by the power of His Holy Spirit.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him,
bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing." John 15:5
So true! I cannot do anything without Him. I need Him every moment.
I've also been leading two Bible studies. I will be finishing up one of
the studies next week with a wonderful group of ladies. We've been
covering what I lovingly call, "the women's verses." It's been wonderful
to open up some of these Scriptures to them. I've shared many of them
with you before, and they can be found on the website at
www.lainesletters.com.
The Bible study I will lead tonight will be on the book of James. I'm so
excited to share with them all that the LORD has been teaching me through
this incredible book. I can never read it enough. I guess that's pretty
true of all the Word of God, isn't it? For I know that I can't live on
bread alone, but on every Word that proceeds from the Mouth of God. He is
my Living Water for sure. I simply hunger for Him more and more each day.
The more I know of Him, the more I want to know of Him. And the more I
love Him, the more I want to love Him even more. What an incredible love
relationship! For I know He feels the same about me.
As it says in Psalms, "Who is man that you are mindful of him?"
Yet He is so very mindful of us. So much so that He sent His only son to
die on a cross for us that we might be saved and live with Him for all
eternity. Every morning I read about it in the Word of God, and I can't
get enough of those Precious Words! "The Sweetness of His Lips definitely
increases my learning." He can tell me over and over how much He loves
me, and I likewise Him, but I'll never tire of hearing it from Him, nor
of telling Him of my love.
"He who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I, too, will love him
and show Myself to him." John 14:21
"If anyone love Me, he will obey my teaching. My Father will love him,
and we will come to him and make our home with him." John 14:23
"Were not our hearts burning within us while He talked with us on the
road and opened The Scriptures to us?" Luke 24:32
Then after reading and talking to Him, I get up and begin to serve Him.
With such a panting heart, I begin to serve Him! I never knew love like
this before. Oh, how I wish women of God would realize what a joy it is
to sit with Him morning after morning. It is truly an incredible
foundation for each day.
Let me tell you how my mornings usually go:
Everything looks so bleak when I get up before dawn. It is so quiet in
the house. So very quiet. I'm tired. Often, I'm tired. My back hurts. My
back always hurts! I have a disc problem in my back. I also suffer with
menopausal problems and have for years, so oftentimes I struggle with
bodily afflictions as well as emotional difficulties. But my canker
sore/lymph gland problem is doing much better. Thank you, LORD!
My kitchen is a mess many mornings. It was this morning because our
septic tank filled up before I could do the kitchen dishes last night
after dinner, so I had to leave them for the next morning. I have so much
to do. So much to do. I need to cook, clean, stretch Art's income, do
laundry, vacuum, teach school, there's food shopping to be done, it's my
brother's birthday, and Art's dad is very sick. Oh, you understand. So
much on my mind each morning.
Problems in the world are on my mind. Problems in our country. Problems
in our state. Problems in our city. Problems in our church. Problems in
our family. Problems even in our neighborhood. There's problems
everywhere, yes?
I set the tea on to boil and get down on my hands and knees before My
Beloved.
Then I pray and ask Him once again to open up His Word to me. To let me
behold wondrous things from His Law. I ask Him to let us hallow His Name
in word and in deed. That we might watch and listen to only that which
pleases Him; never anything that would blaspheme His Beautiful Name in
the guise of entertainment. I pray for His Kingdom to come. Oh, how I
pray for His Kingdom to come! I ask that we might have our daily bread,
especially His Living Bread, for I remind Him that I can't live on bread
alone, but on every Word that proceeds from His Mouth. I ask Him to
forgive our sins, for I am so weak. Without Him, I am so weak. I need Him
to lead us not into temptation, oh, that He might keep us from temptation
and keep us strong in the faith. We need deliverance from evil, and I
pray for His angels to protect us.
Then I open His Word.
It's been like this for almost ten years now, and it gets sweeter and
sweeter every day. I used to "tithe" 24 minutes a day in His Word, but
now I can't get enough in two hours. It's so good to sit at His Feet to
listen, listen, listen to Him and to be still and know that He is God. It
is so good to talk to Him about everything that concerns me. To cast all
my care upon Him, for He cares for me. And then to claim the Word of God
as my very own.
Two hours later, I feel light as a feather.
I am so excited to once again serve Him in this family and in this house.
"Do your work heartily as unto the LORD and not unto men" rings in my
ears. He excites me so. And as I begin to work, getting all "my servants
going early," I am once again so thankful that I got up before dawn and
sat at His Feet. I love learning against Him and breathing Him in.
My Rock.
My Morning Joy.
My Daily Foundation.
I get my husband off to work with a nice lunch after a chat over coffee.
He loves our morning chats. I often share with him what I am learning
from the Word of God. Today was no exception. Then I share with him our
nutritional supplements that have been a great help in my canker/sore
lymph problem, as well as with my menopausal and back pain. I have shared
those nutritional helps before with you all as well at the website in the
"In My Home Recently" section.
Next I tackle the kitchen. I set the timer, and with my praise music in
the background, I get all the dishes done. It is still dark outside, the
kids are sleeping, and it is so good to meditate and praise the LORD
while I work in the early morning hour. Then I put the lid down on the
washer to get the clothes going that had been soaking all night. I write
my children's chore lists (each child getting three chores and one
cooking chore a day). After that I turn on the oven. I've found that with
the oven on, I will find something to put in it. I love working as fast
as I can in the morning to beat the clock. I call it my "early morning
workout." I get my heart beating rapidly as I race around putting things
back where they go, tidying up the living room and kitchen, swishing down
the bathroom, making my bed and tidying my room, sweeping the front and
back porch, dust mopping the hallway, vacuuming the living room and any
other rooms that need it, getting my bread machines going, my mixer
going, and feather dusting the furniture. It is amazing how much you can
get done when you work against the clock (kind of like a runner trying to
beat his running time), and the more practice at it, the better you get.
Plus you can think so clearly with everyone still asleep! ~Smile~ I run
the vacuum when I am ready for everyone to start getting up.
The key to all of this is one of my grandmother's favorite sayings, "A
place for everything, and everything in its place."
Now I am still working on this. Things are much better, but I still have
a lot to learn and practice.
What I have learned is that the upkeep of closets, drawers, and rooms is
a constant habit. It has to be worked on little by little every month.
Things get stuffed and put out of place. What I have also learned is that
many of these drawers take about five minutes at a time. Especially with
the timer on! I learned so much of this from the Flylady at
www.flylady.net. She calls it working on your zones.
I really don't look at housework the same anymore after practicing it
with the Flylady for a year and a half. I don't have it down, please
don't think I have it down. What I have down is the habits, or the
routines, as the Flylady calls them. My habits have changed, so my house
is slowly changing with the habits. I couldn't change this house
overnight if I tried, because I've been such a pack rat for so long. It
takes time and perseverance. I am not as overwhelmed as I used to be,
rather I see what I have to do and I do it, little by little.
The LORD had helped me to understand through Proverbs 31 that I needed to
get my meal started in the morning. So I practiced this for years. It is
a wonderful habit!
"She also rises before dawn and provides food for her household, and a
portion for her maidservants." Proverbs 31:15
I have learned the value of rising before dawn, gleaning at His Feet for
myself and my household, then getting my crockpots, bread machines, and
oven going early. My other maidservants, I now realize, are very valuable
to get going early as well. So I get my washer going, my dryer going (if
I am not hanging out), my beautiful choir singing (the stereo ~Smile~),
my sink filled up with hot sudsy water, my vacuum running, my fireplace
roaring on a cold day, as well as my kerosene heater going in the
kitchen. In the summer it would be my fans and my whole house fan to cool
off. But I recognize how valuable all these "servants" are to me, and the
value of getting them going early. All from the precious Word of God.
Since I have spent intimate time with the LORD, had a nice chat with my
husband, and now have so many servants going early, I am much more ready
to see my kids get up.
And to think I used to sleep in and miss all of this! I used to live in
fear rather than faith. I was always behind rather than moving ahead. I
felt guilt instead of grace. Was I tired even after sleeping in? Yes. I
was always tired! Now I can catch a nap after finishing school with most
of my work behind me. I find myself so much more refreshed when my
husband comes home at the end of the day. How good the LORD is to teach
and train His child. So often I have asked Him to change my bad habits
into good ones, to give me eyes to see and ears to hear. He's been doing
that and more.
As the Psalmist says, "He wakens me morning by morning. He wakens my ear
to listen as one of the learned."
My morning joy.
The foundation of my day.
The Master of My Moments.
No fear...only faith.
No guilt...only grace.
No pride...only praise.
No claim...only Christ.
What a way to start a day!
Love,
Laine