31 Days of Words for the Daily Dash - Day 2

As I begin these posts about the words I hear over and over in my head, I need to say that the order of their introduction here will be random - except for this first one. I hear this every morning. It is the last sentence from the introduction of the book, A Lamp for My Feet, by Elisabeth Elliot.

If you have only five minutes, don't read my book, read God's.

Years ago, I made the commitment to read the Bible the first thing in the morning. I believe it is the inspired word of God.

New Living Translation 2 Timothy 3:16 All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.

And if I believe that, how could I not read it? How can I not start my day with the one who created me, hearing what He has to say? I've definitely had my ups and downs in this discipline, but overall, I have been fairly consistent. But believe it or not, since I have joined twitter, facebook and the blog world, this has been more difficult than at any other time in my life!

Here's an example of some of the conversations I have with myself in the mornings as I walk down the hall from my bedroom to the family room where all things computer (and my Bible) are located.

"Just take 5 minutes to check your twitter feed. You have enough discipline to get off. It's only 5 minutes - and you've got 30+ minutes for the rest of your reading time. Luke and Hannah (two of my kids who are away at college) may have tweeted last night after you went to bed and you don't want to miss anything important."


OR, it goes like this the day after I publish a blog post...

"Just peek at your stats. You know you're curious how many hits you had. That takes no time. Then you'll be able to concentrate. And you might as well quickly glance at Facebook to see if anybody left a "like" or comment on your post about your new blog post."


I need to confess that I do believe my social-media-addicted self some mornings. But on the majority of mornings, I hear Elisabeth Elliot's quote. It reminds me that, no matter how little or how much time I have, the first of that precious gift should be filled with what is true. God's word is the most important thing I will read all day. It is eternal. It is powerful. It is living and active and life giving!

And I want to really live.

I still want to and will check my twitter and Facebook, and I'll fiddle with my blog. Those are not bad things. In fact, I think they are really great things that I enjoy a lot. It's a timing thing. It's a keep my mind focused on what's most important thing.

So, I thank Elisabeth Elliot for ending her introduction with those words way back in 1985. And I'll end this post by tweaking her quote a bit for 2011.

If you have 5 minutes, don't read my blog, read God's.


Note: Here's a link to see all the participants in the 31 Days blogging event. There are 500+ (!) to choose from. I bet you'll find something that you'll like. Wink at #46 as you scroll down :)