Whew, this is almost miraculous--I've already cooked and cleaned up dinner, Peter is in the bath, Preyer is doing homework, Richard, Janie, and Richard are all at Bible study, and I suddenly have a few quiet moments! Thank You Lord! I just read this from a devotional study Mary Norris gave me: "What do you do when alone with God? Many of us think, talk or ask. But when alone with God how vital also to listen! Solitude is the place where you can hear the voice that calls you the beloved, that leads you onto the next page of the adventure, that says, as God said to Jesus early in the Gospels, 'This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased.' Matthew 3:17)"

How often do I truly get quiet before the Lord? Like most busy moms, I am a major multitasker! To sit quietly and not be getting something accomplished just seems, well, almost sinful! I sit and my mind wants to start racing with all the unfinished business of the day. "Martha, Martha...!" O how I can relate to poor old Martha--after all, exactly who was going to get all that food served and make everything comfortable and inviting for Jesus and the disciples?! Certainly not good-for-nothing Mary just sitting lazily at Jesus' feet.

But Mary is the one Jesus commended for she truly chose "the better part." Forgive me Jesus for so often bypassing the privilege of sitting at Your feet and experiencing the joy of spending time with you in favor of getting things done (ostensibly for You). I am trying to learn that You want me and not my to do list. You want a relationship with each of us and not our accomplishments or awards or clean houses or Julia Child meals. The King of the Universe wants us and longs for us to hear Him call us His beloved! Incredible. And I think I have more important things to do?

I love the first two verses of a passage I am trying (emphasize TRYING!) to memorize declare: "Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior JEsus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours: Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord."

We have a faith as precious as that of Peter and Paul and Luke! We have the same Holy Spirit within us and the same power available to us! And we can have that same abundance of grace and peace through the knowledge of the Lord Jesus. How do we get knowledge of someone--by spending time with them, having a relationship with them, learning about them.

So thank You for this time, Lord to just say hi and listen for a few moments to Your still small voice. For reminding me that the laundry will still be there--it will always be there--but I need to grab those moments with You and redeem the time! To You be the glory. p.s. It's too quiet upstairs! I am about to get busy again, but I take the grace and peace of My Savior with me. Thanks Lord!