Meditation..not yoga!

Happy Monday - oxymoron? Maybe. Although, the hubby brought me my coffee in bed AND is taking the kiddos to school while I sit in my office (the bed) with a beautiful view of the horizon. So, today is a Happy Monday although it isn't even 8am yet! I feel compelled all of a sudden to make sure that I blog on a regular basis. Not just because I love to write but because I feel that I need to be consistent however, it seems more difficult now because I am keenly aware of every word I write. I want to be sure that my writing is always seasoned with grace and received in grace. I want to be sure that God is always represented with truth and that I am never speaking out of my own resources - that my friends is DIFFICULT! I believe that God had me in mind when He wrote the Proverb saying, "Where there are many words there is much transgression!" Yep, that's me! Talking has to rank up there with eating and sleeping. Which makes it hard to "be still and know that I am God" or in my case "shut up so I can talk to you my child!" There are definitely times when in the midst of my prayers (doing pretty well on that "resolution" by God's grace) I think to myself.."you sure are talking alot, maybe God might want to say something." Which leads me to realize that I rush in very quickly and deliberately into God's presence. I don't enter with awe and fear, timidity and reverence. I simply start firing off requests and a praise here and there, a few "please forgive me's" and then I'm done..."Amen, thanks God for listening!"

Which brings me to a verse I have been thinking on for a few days: "Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight O God, my Strength, my Redeemer" (Psalm 19:14). Because I am a talker I often pray for the words that come out of my mouth and I ask the Lord to make me a better listener..in other words, I pray often that I would learn to be quiet. However, I fall short in living up to my end of the request by actually trying to be quiet. I pray, more often than not, thinking that the Holy Spirit is just going to put supernatural duct tape on my mouth!! Let me say, for the record, that hasn't happened yet - my husband can attest to that! So, the second half of that verse that talks about the meditation of my heart speaks to me! How often do I take time to truly meditate on God, on His Word, on His presence? My time with Him is very one sided - it is all about me! I read, I pray, I memorize..I..I..I. Is it any wonder that at the end of that verse God is labeled as our Strength and our Redeemer? Our strength is not drawn from the Lord by rushing in and rushing out of His presence. Our strength is drawn from a purposeful rest in His presence. A time of being still (and quiet) and KNOWING that He is God. It says in Psalm 49:3, "The meditation of my heart shall give understanding." When we stop long enough to meditate we receive understanding, wisdom and strength. This is a rich promise we can take to the spiritual bank when we stop and SAVOR the beauty of Jesus.

So, today, instead of having a "microwave moment" with the Lord let's try giving Him a few uncontested moments of our attention. "Enter into His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise, be thankful to Him and bless His Name" and then wait on the Lord and receive understanding!