Peace

I am not a morning person. It takes me some time to get going in the morning (unlike my guys, who can be out the door within 15 minutes of rolling out of bed), so I'm usually up well before I need to be functional. The only thing I do between coming downstairs and pouring my coffee is feeding the cats so they won't pester me.

The hour between 7 and 8 is usually the quietest of my conscious hours. Alex is gone to school by then, and I have a solid hour of near-silence before I have to get Vicky going. I'm beginning to treasure this time, when my tapping on the keyboard seems loud to my drowsy ears. It gives me time to get myself together, read a devotional and sometimes a chapter or so at random from one of the Bibles on the shelf of the computer desk.

This morning I went to Proverbs 31. I'm very familiar with the second half of that chapter because it describes the woman I'm trying to become. It's a tall order. I've been working on it for about six years or so. Some things come easily to me, like helping others. I've gone overboard with that and gotten myself into trouble more than once! Other parts, like rising while it is yet night, or the lamp not going out at night, are still hard for me. So this morning, I grabbed a pencil and wrote adjectives in the margins. I'll print them out later and tape them to the inside of a kitchen cupboard, where I'll see them occassionally to remind me.

Here is the list I came up with, if anyone is interested (Proverbs 31: 10-31): responsible, industrious, organized, practical, hard-working, giving, plans ahead, supportive, entreprenurial, up-beat, wise, busy, loved, faithful, rewarded.

Interesting how 'rewarded' was last. It's a good reminder to make the most of one's time on the earth. Work hard and help each other, for in so doing you store up treasure in Heaven.