I have to admit, I've been
terrible at remembering to be in the word lately! I haven't made it a top priority. (Why is it so hard to confess that!) I used to wake up, turn on the coffee pot, and head straight for my bible, pen, and journal. Lately, I've been so eager to hear about what's going on in the world, with Diane Sawyer and Robin Roberts (little shout out to a.m. ABC news), that I've neglected hearing from God through His scriptures. The ironic thing, is that even though my I've failed to do my reading some days, or pushed it further down the list of daily "tasks," is that I speak with God more throughout the day than I ever have. It's really awesome to see the difference in my mind and heart-which works to shape my attitude, when I pray to the Lord more throughout the day, just thanking Him for miscellaneous things, even if I don't necessarily
feel gratitude for those things at the moment. The act of praying for or about something, shifts my attitude to become more focused on God and others, and less on MEEEE, me, me. That's something I've been working on with myself lately- "cognitive-restructuring," or "reorganization" of my thought processes (to put it in therapy terms).
:)
The thing is...I was almost brought to tears when I read this verse this morning:
"[God]...who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before Him..." (Ephesians 1:3-4).
I can choose a million other things, day after day- before I choose true quality time with the Lord. No matter what I put before Him, no matter how many times I may choose another-
He still desires to pour out His spiritual blessings upon me. That's what makes this Christmas sentimental to me personally. I'm thankful for God's spiritual blessings, the fact that He sent a precious and righteous king to us...No matter what American Culture says Christmas is about. ;)
Happy Christmas, friends!!!
