Meeting For Coffee

For years now God has been telling me to get up before everyone else in my house and spend some time with Him. Years. Ask anyone I've ever been in a post-marital small group with and they'll verify that it was always a prayer request. With four kids (and even before), getting time during the day where it was quiet enough for me to be able to focus (Read: "silent". I have trouble focusing otherwise) was nearly impossible. Waiting until they had gone to bed proved equally as impossible as my brain has a built in shut off timer which seems irreversibly set to 7:30pm. Once 7:30 hits, there's just no hope for any brain activity above the basic maintenance level necessary for life.

On multiple occasions I would try getting up 30 minutes before everyone else. Seems good right? Wrong. By the time I was up, hit the bathroom, got a cup of coffee, and grabbed my bible, I had 15 minutes left before the proverbial bell rang and chaos ensued. Not much time to read, pray, and listen. At least not effectively anyway. So, after dabbling in the 30 minutes of failure repeatedly over the years, I knew an hour was what I really needed. In this house, getting up an hour earlier than the rest of the tribe means 5:00am. Five-flippin'-AM.  It is widely known that I am not a morning person. The thought of being conscious enough to witness that hour was brutalizing to my soul, but I knew that's what it would take. God had been telling me as much all along. Even Joyce Meyer told me once. Well, not just me, she told her entire broadcast area but I swear she had me in mind when she said it. (See Mark 10:27)

I am happy to report that by the grace of God, for about a month now, I have been getting up every day @ 5am to spend some time with God (6am on weekends since I force my children to remain in bed until 7am), and you know what? I LOVE it. I thought I would be more exhausted than ever shaving off an hour of sleep, but I find that the opposite has been true. All those years when God would wake me at 5am only for me to mumble some excuse as to why it couldn't be done and then go back to sleep....if I would have just done it anyway, where would I be now......? I do make sure to be in bed as close to 10pm as possible, but I've found that rather simple as well. I do nothing of value past 10pm and neither does the television so that hasn't been hard. What has been truly amazing to me is that I really don't miss the sleep. Spending that time with God has proven to be more rejuvenating than sleeping longer ever has been and now I find myself sincerely looking forward to getting up each day. If something happens and I miss that time, I feel it. The day seems a little darker without it.


Has God been nudging you to do the same? I write this to encourage you to DO IT! I promise you will not regret it! There is no better way to start your day and I know you'll agree if you can just make up your mind to start. Don't give up; keep trying until it sticks. Jesus is waiting for you there.

"In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly." Ps 5:3