Rejoice!

"This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it!" Psalm 118:24

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!" Philippians 4:4

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What a lovely morning this has been!

I am starting to truly cherish my early morning quiet times with the Lord. In order to make this happen, I've been waking up an hour earlier than I did last year. 4:30am comes awfully early, but I'm tired by 9:30 or 10:00 at night anyways, so it works out just fine. :) [Tresbien, I took your wise words to heart in your comment on my last post....] Starting the morning being REAL with God. It's not about just reading words or going through a ritual. It's about QUALITY time... being refreshed and renewed by the Holy Spirit. This morning I wrote this prayer in my journal:

"Jesus you are all I want and all I need. Make me so aware of Your love today - through nature, provision, unexplainable peace & joy, community with other believers - whatever it is, Lord, I need my affirmation and affection to come from YOU. I need to recognize You as my Source. Seeking that out in other people around me has proved futile."

I realized, as I found an awesome parking spot today at school (which is rare, let me tell you!), how God has been answering this prayer ever since I prayed it! The kids were great this morning, my attitude was great, I feel so rested and ready for this day, I'm prepared for all my classes and don't feel stressed out or worried, I treated myself to a coffee at Dutch Bros. on my way to school, I got that great parking spot... It's only 10:00 in the morning and I am overwhelmed by the love of God in all of these little things. My demeanor and my perspective toward this day are different when I acknowledge where my help comes from... it's sure not from my own strength! Jesus, thank you for romancing my heart!