Blessings:

I keep bumping into the idea that God actually values the beginnings and endings of our days ... and He seems to expect us to value the passing of our days by setting up times and ways for us to take time out and honor him ... in a routinely manner.

At first, I saw it in the very defined "evening and morning was the first day" type phrases. Then as He's started to set up the rules and regs for the Israelites, I've bumped into it over and over. There were things that go with the day, things that go with certain days of the week, and things that go with certain seasons.

Yes there are pre-established thoughts in my head that are making me keenly aware of this about God. We'll talk about it some time. In the mean time, I am considering what I could be doing to mark the comings and goings of my day ... in order to have some mood markers ... markers that order my days and set the mood.

The first thing I decided to do was to take my sabbath day of no work. So yesterday I tried really hard to stay away from the computer. It was kind of challenging to only log in and approve comments once in the morning and once in the evening. I started a new design for a few pages on Saturday and I really wanted to keep fiddling with it.

I am behind in my reading so yesterday I went out and sat in a coffee shop (and, yes, of course, I have stories to tell about yet another coffee shop character ... but that's also another day ... maybe even a series of days, or weeks ... uh anyway...). And I was reading about the setting up of the tabernacle.

One of the things that Aaron (the priest) was to do is burn incense in the morning and in the evening while tending to the candles. And it put me to remembering a very nice stay I had with some friends -- specifically, my new daughter-in-law's parents. Her mom had an evening mood setting ritual. Quiet music. Candles all over the living area. And the indoor lights dimmed to match the twilight outside.

So, yesterday, I came home, lit some candles ... and then thought about "If evening is really the beginning, what do I usually do in the mornings?" And so I ... started beans to soak for (tonight's) supper, made Billy's lunch for work, washed the dishes, ironed Billy's shirt. Washed and dried a load of laundry ... but it's still waiting for the folding.

Confession ... it was easy to make the transition because I didn't have to stop and think about Billy because he was out working on a friend's car. (Pray they get that thing running again tomorrow night ... something about headers, valves, and timing belts.) And I hadn't already worn myself out during the day. But let me tell you ... I have super enjoyed my morning! Very few dishes to wash, guilt free writing, guilt free coffee musings!

This morning I got up and lit the candles again. They smell good and it's a deary day. But I really want to consider the whole burning incense thing because it starts and finishes by itself.

Oh! The really funny thing I noticed ... yeah ... well when you go back and read about the Pharaoh's magicians duplicating the plagues ... yeah ... they could duplicate them ... so that they had more frogs ... more bloody river water, etc. ... but ... Pharaoh always had to call Moses in to get the plagues lifted.

It made me wonder ... Pharaoh always minimized the plagues ... "Hey, my guys can do it, too. So what's the big deal?" I'm just think'n there's a moral in there for us somewhere ... something about "he'll just have to hit bottom before he starts looking for a way out" feels like a somewhat similar echo.

Frustrations:

I'm way behind in my reading ... I started trying to read in the evenings ... huge mistake ... either Billy wanted my attention or the Bible was hitting me in the face ... you just can't relax your grip when reading in bed. So, now to figure out how to get caught up. Step one: read during the day. Hmm maybe it should be part of my coffee musings time ... hmmmmm.

Also, in considering my inspiration for starting these new ways of looking at things and routines, it's made me rather aware that I have incorporated some new principles but I am not so much closer to incorporating the principle Creator ... hmmmm.