the discipline

I had just turned 20 and needed some inspiration.  I was stale, curious, impatient, ready.  I needed guidance, I needed more love.  I needed inspiration.

Then I got a “junk” email.  Who knew it would change the way I look at everyday of my life.  Who knew junk mail could change my life.  Best and most ironic of all was that it was in the “i’ve stolen your identity” way that forces you to rebuild your life.  Though my idenity was never stolen, NO!  It was created.  My identity has been created in the image of God.  And it was in that moment, reading a quote by Graham Cooke (who is he by the way), that I started living in the image of God.  Because “When we discipline ourselves to behold Jesus in every circumstance, a transformation occurs. We learn how to sit, wait and watch for Him every day. The Holy Spirit teaches us about face-to-face, personal adoration; it comes from a worship that flows from a place of rest.”

this is me, disciplined to sit, wait, watch and behold my King on the road to eternal life with Him.  It’s not easy, but it’s worth it, every time.  It’s a discipline.

OH YES, MY FATHER GOD, YOU SHAPED ME, NICOLE MARIE, FIRST INSIDE, THEN OUT; YOU FORMED ME IN MY MOTHER’S WOMB. I THANK YOU, HIGH GOD—YOU’RE BREATHTAKING! BODY AND SOUL, I AM MARVELOUSLY MADE! I WORSHIP IN ADORATION—WHAT A CREATION!

YOU KNOW ME INSIDE AND OUT, YOU KNOW EVERY BONE IN MY BODY, YOU KNOW MY SCARS, MY WOUNDS, MY HEART; YOU KNOW EXACTLY HOW I WAS MADE, BIT BY BIT, HOW I WAS SCULPTED FROM NOTHING INTO SOMETHING.  LIKE AN OPEN BOOK, YOU WATCHED ME GROW FROM CONCEPTION TO BIRTH; ALL THE STAGES OF MY LIFE WERE SPREAD OUT BEFORE YOU, THE DAYS OF MY LIFE ALL PREPARED BEFORE I’D EVEN LIVED ONE DAY AND YOU GUIDE ME THROUGH EACH AND EVERY ONE.  I BEHOLD YOUR GLORY, EVEN WHEN IT’S DIFFICULT BECAUSE I KNOW YOU WERE THERE BEFORE ME.  I AM AN OPEN BOOK, WRITE IN ME YOUR GLORIES.

OH LET ME RISE IN THE MORNING AND LIVE WITH YOU…INVESTIGATE MY LIFE GOD, GET A CLEAR PICTURE OF WHAT I’M ABOUT…THEN GUIDE ME ON THE ROAD TO ETERNAL LIFE.

PSALM 139
GOD’S WORD SPEAKING TO ME