Early in the morning

I'm up early now. Last week my phone reset itself thinking it was daylight savings time. This time, even though I set it properly, it thought it knew better than I and reset itself.

I've been praying now, once an hour every waking hour for the last week. I haven't blogged as much mainly because for some reason, I've had a hard time uploading via blogger-droid on my so called "smart phone." I'm going to have some words with my phone, that's for sure.

But it also has my timer on it and it goes off at the oddest times. It has gone off while talking with the SD Highway Patrol (I wasn't in trouble, but at a football game). I said a quick prayer, but feel I should have said one for the backup quarter back, one of my church's kids. He's safe, he's fine, but I still feel bad that I didn't lift him up in prayer when the alarm kept going off. Why wasn't I paying attention?


And it went off a number of times while studying. It went off in the car while I was coming and going to hospital visits. A number of times while in the car. And, because I don't always bring my phone in with me, while I wasn't in the car.

When the Alarm goes off while on hospital visits, it seems that I'm already praying. There's something about the long car rides to and from Mitchell or Sioux Falls that gives me to time to ponder and pray.




And it goes off while I'm lifting. This one always gets me. It so far hasn't gone off while in the middle of a set, but always right before or right after



Regardless of when it happens, I stop and pray. Sometimes I even try to take a picture of where I'm at. There are those moments, in God's grandeur that I stop and look around and see how great he is, how lucky I am to be where I'm at and just how blessed I am. There are other times when the alarm goes off and I have to stop and take a few steps back and rememeber what is most important--it's not about me. It never has been.

So far this week, this alarm going off has helped my son pray, it has helped me learn to take a moment or two to focus, it has prevented a fight or two, it has made me appreciate my kids more.

God, I don't know what you're trying to teach me, but please, keep it up. But one more thing... I think I saw another gray hair.. I'm only 33, please wait a little while longer.

the journey of prayer

I've been praying now for the last two weeks every 60 minutes. Sometimes I forget to set my alarm on my cell phone. Sometimes, I leave my cell in my car and forget to bring it in. But I've been praying. It's come at the oddest times, sometimes the most inopportune times. Sometimes at the right moment where I need to stop and take a step back and pray. What has really made me pay attention is how much my son is getting into it.

I've been on this journey for a while now. I've been focusing on growing spiritually. I've been focusing on how I can grow in my knowledge and wisdom of who God is, of who I am in his eyes. And it's been heavy lifting. I've had to see the fact that I've been lifting what I shouldn't be lifting--excessive baggage. And I need to lift properly--lifting it all up in prayer. And it's tough. It's hard. It's hard work to day by day decide to get up and follow Jesus. Sometimes I'd like to call "Mulligan" and have a free day. But that doesn't happen.

If I had my druthers, I'd druther do my own thing. But, honestly, if I am to stay healthy, I shouldn't follow my druthers, but the druthers of Christ. And that's heavy lifting--and I need to lift properly, in prayer.

And so, I trudge on. Every 60 minutes in my waking hours I'm going to pray, and focus on God. Two weeks down, more to go.