I was back at it again this morning. I'm no two-day-quitter! (I usually wait at least a week) I found out that the update on my iPhone came with this bedtime thingy, that's a technical term. So I utilized it last night. Essentially 15 minutes before bed there is a chime telling me it's just about bedtime. How sweet! Then there is a wake up after the number of hours you want to sleep. On average an adult should get 8 hours of sleep a night. That's nice, but clearly not realistic. My kids/husband/pets wake me up constantly, but I went with the suggested time. Unfortunately I couldn't choose a ringtone so I still had to make an alarm. I took my suggestion from yesterday and put worship music as my ringtone. A little "Oceans - Where Feet May Fail" anyone? It's my current favourite. However, after all my careful planning and setting alarms my loving son woke up before me this morning, he's 6. He had already woken me up before my alarm. FYI - I hate that. I want to sleep to the very end. Even if I have to wake up to go to the bathroom and it's 15 minutes before my alarm goes off, I will go back to bed. Anyway, my alarm scared him so I didn't get to hear the worship music, I just heard his chatter about how terrified he was.
Click, there's that lightbulb moment. But the most interesting part to me was when I read the commentary for the 21 Day challenge and it stated to me that the reason Jesus did in fact complete this miracle is told to us almost instantly. I never really noticed that, and sometimes when I'm reading things, I don't actually mull over the details. That's why it's nice to have a study bible or a study aid. It makes your brain work. It says right in verse 11 - and his disciples believed in him. Jesus performed this miracle for the benefit of his disciples.
Before I go on to the second chapter... a joke: Cop: Ma'am, what in your glass? Woman: Water Cop: Ma'am, that's not water, that's wine. Woman: Jesus did it again!! It's okay... you can laugh. Or roll your eyes and groan. Onwards! The second part of John 2 involves Jesus going into the temple and upending all the people selling things and the money changers. He lets loose the cattle and sheep and scatters the money all over. When he's confronted by the Jews about proving who he is he tells them that if they "Destroy this temple [he] would raise it again in 3 days." In hindsight.... mind.... blown. At the time, not a very gracious answer, something about how long it took to build the temple. You silly people, he wasn't talking about the actual temple! Another to note about this passage - this is Jesus angry! He makes a whip people! He overturns tables. He is angry. Anger is a natural emotion that we should have, but never abuse. Therein lies the challenge. The verse that really stuck out to me was John 2:25 - He did not need any testimony about mankind, for he knew what was in each person. (NIV) But when I read it in the NLT, I didn't like how it was worded at all - No one needed to tell him what mankind was really like. What struck me was how the NIV makes it sound like he knows us intimately, what's deep in our hearts and he does. I mean, he knows what we're thinking before we think it, right? I just found that the NLT made it clipped and less relational and I didn't like that. Some things to consider for tomorrow -
That last one seems like it makes tons of sense but I rarely do it! I think it's time I started then will have the right mindset to dive in. I didn't notice any huge changes. I'm going through a change in my life where I'm working and I'm definitely the bottom of the totem pole. Same industry, pharmacy, but so much more different. I feel like a lost little sailboat trying to navigate the great big sea. I don't like this feeling and it's hard to overcome it. Today I didn't feel any different, unlike yesterday. I didn't notice myself bringing anything I read up again and mulling it over throughout the day. Perhaps tomorrow, or even a year from now. Who knows? Join me in the 21 Day Challenge and share your experiences.
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Lately I have been having this niggling feeling that there is something missing from my every day routine. It's been there ever since I went camping with the youth group. For a while afterwards I made an effort to complete a devotion or read something related to bible teaching when I woke up. But, like all good intentions, it dwindled down and sputtered out. You know how sometimes you want to do something, you just don't know where to start? That's where I was. I knew deep down that if I wanted to be serious about reading my bible I had to make some changes - like getting up before my kids so I could spend time with my bible. This may not seem like much to parents of teenagers, but my kids wake up early. Granted, I believe that any time before 10 am is early. Clearly I have not grown out of my teenaged sleeping habits, and I had no desire to. Until now... To recap - I have a desire deep within me to spend more time with God. I know that the morning is the best time. Thus --> I need to become a morning person. I just want to take the time to point this out. Apparently it takes 21 days to make something a habit. There are 21 chapters in John. Coincidence? I think not! I accepted the challenge from Back to the Bible. Lord, help me complete it. Help me get up early every morning to spend time with you. Amen. SO! I tried to go to bed early last night, but ended up finally getting there at 11pm. Ugh! First step and I'm already behind the eight ball. Second, I set my alarm for 7am. For those of you still with me, that's 3 hours BEFORE my definition of "early". When my alarm went off this morning I hit snooze, twice. Finally I hauled my arse out of bed at 7:18. My daughter greeted me with a sleepy "good morning mommy". Double ugh! But, this one has a silver lining. My daughter is seeing me make an effort to get into God's word. She is witnessing me reading my bible. Not such a bad "ugh" in the end. I started reading John 1. Instantly I notice the reference to the light and mark down in my bible *Jesus*. I'm a bible markin', highlightin', underlinin' momma. I want my bible to look like I used it. In my first bible I have passages written on the first 2 blank cover pages that made an impact on me during that time of my life. I have now graduated to the Beautiful Word Journaling bible. It's pictures bring the bible to life and I love that I can write along as I read. Coincidently, I went back to the actual challenge during the evening and noticed how it focused on the names that Jesus was called and challenged me to make a list of the descriptive names of Jesus. So here goes:
Tomorrow I may add some nice soft worship music. I think that may add to the mood. Or, I could even wake up to worship music. I don't have an alarm clock, I have an iPhone, so I can pretty much make my alarm anything I want. On this first day did I notice any huge changes? Not overly. Does anyone ever? I'm glad I started. I hope I can finish and keep going. I can truthfully say that when I felt a little down today, my thoughts did go to Jesus and I didn't feel so alone in the moment. Maybe you can start noticing changes on the first day. Why not join me on this journey and share your experience? I'd love to hear from you! |
AndreaYou know the saying, the grass is always greener on the other side? This is my attempt to find greener grass right where I am in my life.
BTW - I'm the one on the right, just in case you didn't already know that. Categories
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