150 Days of Psalms: Day 1

Several years ago, a friend of mine and I were discussing quiet times and the "best" time to have them. He drew an analogy (that I think he stole) that I've never forgotten. Does an orchestra rehearse after the performance is already done? Then why would I do my quiet time (my practice, my preparation) after the day (my performance) is already finished?

As a morning person, I acknowledged that I love to do things in the morning, but since I have to get up early early and be out the door by 6:15, I often find it impossible to do anything more than get ready for work. Evening quiet times are sometimes a challenge too, because there are always a million things to accomplish and before you know it, it's late and that 5:00 alarm is going to be coming mighty soon. Needless to say, this often results in a total failure of having a quiet time at all (or, as my students would say, a "fracaso epico"- an epic fail).

Recently, though, I've been trying to work on discipline in this area and have more regular quiet times, because I know that, if I want to be a different woman in 10 years than I am now, I need to be God-filled. In the last few weeks, I have had more evening quiet times than in the previous months, spent praying, reading, journaling..... and it's been wonderful.

But the idea of starting my day off with the Word still resonates with me deeply.

So I've decided to try reading the Psalms, one a morning. (There are a few that will probably take me more than one morning, due to their extensive length.) 150 Psalms, about 150 days, about 5 months. My goal is to read a Psalm each morning and journal (in my real journal) a quick thought to start the day off right. When I can, I'll also blog the quick thought, to keep in you the loop and to get some accountability.

I'm excited!

So here's today's quick thought from Psalm 1. (I'm reading in the Message for a fresh look at the Psalms- if you don't have that version, my notes won't make sense at all.)

David writes that he "thrills" to to God's Word. The idea of thrilling, of being really excited about the Word, is a little foreign to me, but something I would love to find. Hoping these 150 days help bring that around. He also writes that "God charts my road." I've been thinking about contentment and, with the help of another bloggie friend and this verse, realize I need to have contentment not just for the past and the present, but also for the future. Amen.