I did it!

I did it! I got up early today and had my quiet time!

...I know, lots of people get up early enough to accomplish everything they need to in the morning. But I'm finding with this thyroid disorder I'm particularly susceptible to exhaustion, so getting up before I absolutely have to is a battle won for me.

So, what'd everyone get for Christmas? My gifts showed that my husband had been studying me all year and stockpiling ideas. He's the best. But I got something even better than my new Birkenstock sandals...

This is putting it nicely, but I got a little irritable over the Christmas holiday. You may be thinking "Who doesn't?" Well, that may be true that nobody doesn't, but it's also true that everybody shouldn't. Our emotions are a warning system that alerts us to what's going on in our hearts. An upset in my emotions revealed sin in my heart - and after not a little bad fruit, I was forced to really examine that sin. (Next time I'll try to pay attention to the red flag of irritability and do a heart check then instead of waiting for bad fruit to show up!)

But herein lay my Christmas present. When I saw how sin could just erupt from my heart, I was confronted with the reality of my absolute sinfulness. In contrast to that was the absolute holiness and purity of God. Quite an adjustment - but a merciful one. What greater gift could I have received from the Lord than a proper understanding of myself, and a proper understanding of Him? In other words, what mercy of the Lord to make known to me that I was viewing myself improperly (as not sinful) and viewing Him improperly (as someone whom I didn't need and unworthy of my devotion)? Because functionally, that's what I was saying with my actions. What a dangerous position to have put myself in!

Once I realized what was going on, I was able to go back to God, confess my pride and sinful actions, and enter back into the safety of His help in fighting my sin. I can't let my guard down and believe even for a second that I can depend on myself, 'just this once'. It's a dangerous and slippery slope.

So remembering that, I was able to rouse myself from bed this morning and have my quiet time, even though I was tired. See why I'm so excited? =)