Often on Sunday afternoons when my husband and I are talking about his morning sermon, he'll tell me that he had "stepped on his own toes a lot with that one." Well, I'm about to step on my own toes a little with this post. While studying Exodus, I can't help but notice the times that God told Moses to, "Rise up early in the morning and present yourself to Pharaoh..." (Ex 8:20, 9:13). There are other times, too, that Moses rose up early in the morning to do as God had commanded him (Ex 24:4, 34:4). These passages always smart a little because they remind me that I need to put more effort into rising early in the morning, every morning, to put first things first (my problem is with the every part). We're commanded to "seek first the kingdom" and to give diligence to understand and carry out God's will (Matt 6:33; 2 Tim 2:15). As mothers, especially home schooling mothers and mothers of very young children, it can be a challenge to make time for our own spiritual development. We're told in Mark 1:35 that our Lord took advantage of the quiet, wee morning hours to pray to the Father. For many of us, the only time that solitude is even an option is early in the morning before the children wake up. If this is the case, we should follow our Great Example's lead and devote this time to God. He demands our best, and this includes the best of our time. Yes, it's about time that this momma, like Moses and Jesus, started rising early in the morning (every morning) to do as God commands me.
Simply a Christian. "Be imitators of me, as I am of Christ." (1 Corinthians 11:1) "Therefore encourage one another and build one another up, just as you are doing." (1 Thessalonians 5:11)