I woke up this morning [with my mind... stayed on Jesus]... at 7:52 to the sound of my cell phone vibrating, a call which afforded me the urgent opportunity to jump out of bed and get to the bookstore (where I work) as quickly as possible to rescue a friend. She was so sweet as to offer to buy me breakfast or Starbucks or "whatever I wanted" (lol) for my services (which simply involved showing up with my key to open dee do' [kinda like "shut dee do', keep out dee debil... shut dee do', keep dee debil in da night..."]). :-) I was satisfied, tho, with simply being "the hero" of the morning, haha ["I can be the hero, I can be the he-ee-ro... and push them and pull them right out of the sno-oow" or something like that ;-)]. On the way to the bookstore, I called Timothy (mein boyfriend of sweetness), and chatted with him whilst he drove to get his fingeren printeden so he could be all legal for his druggie job [that's another story ;-)]... and all the while it was SO nice to be out in the chill of the fall morning (yes, chill in Tehas! :-D).
Hold up. Not sure if you understood me.
1. I'm UP before 8am on a day off (when I had been up the night before until 1am... not too ridiculously, tho, in this case :))...
and 2. I'm OUTSIDE driving around already... and it's CHILLY! Aaand all the more so since I woke and left the house so quickly (Quickly? Me? Wow, weird but very "cool"--double meaning there, hehe :)) that I was wearing exercise shorts and a sweatshirt and flip flops. (Good times! :-))
Anywho... So on the way back from playing the hero's part for the day--so exciting :)--I stopped for gas, and I only paid $3.16/gal! Relatively speaking that's REALLY good these days! I was excited. And I got to park in a weird way to get my gas, because there was a gas semi-truck parked (whose driver was very nice) in the way of my being able to pull in straightly parallel to the gas pump--another sense of adventurous accomplishment, WOOT! :) Theeennn... I drove the rest of the way home, whilst talking to the boyfriend again, and (he's pretty amazing, fyi) we flirted a bit as he was looking around for a cafe and I really wanted to be where he was but I couldn't without driving 30-45 minutes to get there, which would use more gas than I necessarily had money to afford to use currently... Ergo, we just talked and teased and had a grandiosely jovial time.. and then he went inside a Starbucks and I made myself a yummy omelet, toast, and Earl Grey tea w/ honey (at home). And it wasn't too bad if I do say so myself. I even took a picture, but it would take a little while to download it so I won't post it right now.
I love fall.
Just sayin.
Anywhoodles... so now I'm drinking my tea and am inspired to type a long rambly blog post... but also it's a good time to have some devotions (especially since I have the house all to myself right now, with the exception of the cat, who is confined to her own generous portion of the house so no need to feel sorry for her... or for me, lol).
<<Insert "Awkward Transition" here.>>
So yesterday Timothy [I really call him Tim, but I'm still working out the silliness of the giddily inspiring morning it has been thus far! :)] and I were talking about some cool stuff, somewhat about prayer... which I've been trying to understand better and practice more lately, in particular... I don't think I'm the only one who has been a Christian for a long time and doesn't have it figured out, yeah? So, anyway, I said something in reference to David... ya know, (King) David in the Bible.
Well, I'm mentioning this because just now I picked up a book called A Deeper Kind of Calm by Linda Dillow (a thinner book than Calm My Anxious Heart, though I'm not sure how that's relevant at the moment...?), a book which I have not really been reading but just yesterday brought up from my temporary guest room to my more permanent loft room--it's a pretty cool space; wish you could see it, but that's another story--and I opened to a page in the middle someplace, and the very part I saw there, which caught my eye immediately, reads "David knew his intimate Friend stayed up and prayed for him." I read some more of the context, and... Wow... SO very cool. Tim and I had just been talking yesterday about how the Psalms don't seem to portray David's prayers as self-conscious, formulaic, stuck in a box, must sound a certain way (whether to please self or anyone else) kinds of prayers, unlike we as Christians today sometimes feel about ours--at least I know I often do. I also mentioned within the conversation that I think that's largely because we don't have the same experiential knowledge and daily remembrance of Who God IS, and David, by contrast, was so delighted in and in pursuit of and committed to his Friendship with God, that He was simply so enraptured with the person of God that everything else (what people may think of him, etc.) was insignificant in comparison so he was largely unaffected by so many of the things that we may easily become distracted or hindered by. (Okay, so I didn't probably say those exact words, but that was the idea.)
How appropriately delightfully SO COOL that what I'm reading here says the following:
**David had an intimate friendship with God
On my bed I remember you; I think of you through the watches of the night. Because you have been my help, I sing in the shadow of your wings. (verses 6-7) [<--Psalm 63:6-7]
David had a secret life with God, a life of intimate friendship that no one saw. Though his whole being agonized over the breach with his son, his heart rejoiced in the night as he clung to his God. David's intimate connection to God enabled him to cast his problem on God and feel such peace that songs flowed from his lips!
I too have experienced "night watches." Recently, as I knelt by the sofa in my office in the early morning hours and poured out my anxieties to God, He gently whispered, "Linda, please go to bed. I'll sit up the rest of the night and carry the burden for you. Let Me hold you up in this way." What a picture! The Creator of the universe sits up, waiting, watching, and praying for me, His child, while I sleep. David knew his intimate Friend stayed up and prayed for him.**
And the chapter continues... :) Another cool quote I see in this section of the book (the whole chapter appears to be based on Psalm 63) reads like this:
"David's God was a personal God. He called Him my God and my help. Because David had communion and union with the Holy One, he could follow hard after Him. And my friend, when we experience God's love and are deeply satisfied in Him, when we know Him intimately, we too will cling tightly to Him."
Wow, what an encouragement and challenge for us! Hmm... I dunno about you, but I'd like to... Nay, I really WANT to, and I will seek continually to discover new depths of God's love and sufficiency through a growing friendship with the Almighty, God. Wow... good stuff.
And one more quote:
"David praised God verbally and physically. He praised the Most High God with words, song, and hands raised high. I can almost hear his exuberant shouts and joyful hallelujahs. David was excited about God! God's love so overwhelmed him that he had to worship the Holy One with body, soul, and spirit."
Okay, I dunno about you, but I really want to read this whole chapter now... but if not the whole chapter of this book, for now, I should enjoy reading and taking in Psalm 63, about which it speaks. So, in closing, here goes:
[My Soul Thirsts for You]
[A PSALM OF DAVID, WHEN HE WAS IN THE WILDERNESS OF JUDAH.]
O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you;
my soul thirsts for you;
my flesh faints for you,
as in a dry and weary land where there is no water.
So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary,
beholding your power and glory.
Because your steadfast love is better than life,
my lips will praise you.
So I will bless you as long as I live;
in your name I will lift up my hands.
My soul will be satisfied as with fat and rich food,
and my mouth will praise you with joyful lips,
when I remember you upon my bed,
and meditate on you in the watches of the night;
for you have been my help,
and in the shadow of your wings I will sing for joy.
My soul clings to you;
your right hand upholds me.
But those who seek to destroy my life
shall go down into the depths of the earth;
they shall be given over to the power of the sword;
they shall be a portion for jackals.
But the king shall rejoice in God;
all who swear by him shall exult,
for the mouths of liars will be stopped.
(Psalm 63 ESV)
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