walk victoriously

... all who keep the Sabbath without desecrating it

and who hold fast to my covenant- these I will bring to my holy

mountain and give them joy in my house of prayer.

.isaiah 56:6-7

This morning I was reminded of the importance of starting the day in prayer.

Yesterday I was completely overwhelmed with life and this morning the Lord reminded me that I personally need to start my day with quality time with Him.

I love the mornings, but since I've been wearing myself thin with over-committing to things I have been absolutely exhausted and ignored the charming tune of my alarm clock on my phone. But this morning was different. I was actually excited to get up and get ready when my alarm went off- I know some people probably think that is a bizarre reaction to an alarm clock, but if you think about what the alarm is really signalling perhaps you can understand where I'm coming from. To me the alarm signals a new day, a fresh start, it's the beginning, a gift, a chance to make a difference, an opportunity to walk onto a campus with light and purpose, a chance to love people.

Here is the play-by-play of my morning:

[those of you still reading this must really love me haha, maybe too much detail, but I want you to understand my experience]

[6:50] I went to 21 Days of Prayer at Highlands this morning with Mary Reading and then had breakfast at Big Blue. MR was so encouraging. I love to hear people's hearts, so getting to catch up with her was fantastic.

[8:27ish] MR leaves for work and I stay in Big Blue with my journal, Breaking Free, and an hour in the meter.

[8:35ish] After plugging in my earphones and picking an appropriate song to drown out the background noise I opened my book to the chapter for today. What was the title you ask? It was The Obstacle of Prayerlessness.

[8:37] The Lord gently and very boldly pointed out why I have felt so overwhelmed and anxious lately: my lack of quality, un-timed, intimate time with Him in prayer.

When we walk with him, we walk in victory, but to walk with Him, to know Him we MUST communicate with Him. It was just a wonderful, humbling reminder of that this morning reading through this chapter. I won't continue on through my whole day...that'd be a little much...but I wanted to paint the picture for you of how He so beautifully orchestrated my morning and drew me back into His presence and love at Big Blue this morning.

Enjoy the day. It's a beautiful gift.