What is the first thing you do when you awake each morning?
Composer Eric Whitacre said in a conversation on reddit (Jan. 11, 2013) that he begins each day by reciting e.e. cummings poem, "i thank you god for most this amazing day." Before he even opens his eyes.
I always pray or say a verse or two of scripture before I sit up in bed, but I didn’t have one particular plan for the first two minutes or so of the day. Whitacre’s comment rattled around in my mind for a couple days, partly because I admired his discipline (as one who says he is not a Christian), and partly because I, who claim to be a Christian, wasn’t making use of those first golden moments of the day like I could or should. After a quick, “Thank you Lord for a new day,” or saying the Lord’s prayer, or praying an extemporaneous prayer, my mind and body were often off and running on what do I need to do today.
I decided for 2013 I would start and end everyday by saying a psalm that I would memorize. It’s been great mental and spiritual exercise to put these words to memory. That admonition to “hide God’s word in my heart,” isn’t just an exercise in discipline. It will change your life to carry God’s word around like a precious, always available treasure.
I chose Psalm 139, a psalm that speaks to God’s intimacy with us, and involvement in our lives every moment of every day. It is a great psalm to mull over anytime, but especially at the beginning of the day. I also find when my mind becomes cluttered or overwhelmed during the day, shifting it towards this psalm has been a source for refreshment, even if I just think through the psalm’s bookends:
Those two closing bits in verses 23 & 24 about “anxious thoughts” and “offensive way” really are a summary of all that is amiss. We worry, or we sin. Two things God wants to help us confess and run from. Lead me in the way everlasting. What a beautiful bookend for either end of the day.
Shopping for a unique gift? Consider a gift of bookends. Get started here.
Composer Eric Whitacre said in a conversation on reddit (Jan. 11, 2013) that he begins each day by reciting e.e. cummings poem, "i thank you god for most this amazing day." Before he even opens his eyes.
I always pray or say a verse or two of scripture before I sit up in bed, but I didn’t have one particular plan for the first two minutes or so of the day. Whitacre’s comment rattled around in my mind for a couple days, partly because I admired his discipline (as one who says he is not a Christian), and partly because I, who claim to be a Christian, wasn’t making use of those first golden moments of the day like I could or should. After a quick, “Thank you Lord for a new day,” or saying the Lord’s prayer, or praying an extemporaneous prayer, my mind and body were often off and running on what do I need to do today.
I decided for 2013 I would start and end everyday by saying a psalm that I would memorize. It’s been great mental and spiritual exercise to put these words to memory. That admonition to “hide God’s word in my heart,” isn’t just an exercise in discipline. It will change your life to carry God’s word around like a precious, always available treasure.
I chose Psalm 139, a psalm that speaks to God’s intimacy with us, and involvement in our lives every moment of every day. It is a great psalm to mull over anytime, but especially at the beginning of the day. I also find when my mind becomes cluttered or overwhelmed during the day, shifting it towards this psalm has been a source for refreshment, even if I just think through the psalm’s bookends:
The parallel of the bookends is deeply meaningful. It occurred to me just this week that the Psalm begins by affirming that God has searched me and He knows me. The middle sections describe just how well he knows me and how close He is all the time. The Psalm ends by asking God, “Yes! I acknowledge that You are amazingly present in my life and I want you to search me and know me and lead me!” Bookends like these elephants below--similar, yet a little different.1O Lord, you have searched me
and you know me.
2 You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar. 3 You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways. 4 Before a word is on my tongue
you know it completely, O Lord.
. . . .
23 Search me, O God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.24 See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Those two closing bits in verses 23 & 24 about “anxious thoughts” and “offensive way” really are a summary of all that is amiss. We worry, or we sin. Two things God wants to help us confess and run from. Lead me in the way everlasting. What a beautiful bookend for either end of the day.
In 2007, I
purchased these elephant bookends for my husband’s birthday. They are from
India, purchased at a fair trade store in Harrisonburg VA. With this blog post,
I will always think of Psalm 139 when I dust them.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here’s a piece by Eric Whitacre, “hope, faith, life, love”
This work has resonated with many people in their 20’s and 30’s. The very straightforward text reflects, in my opinion, a new creed for many young people:
This work has resonated with many people in their 20’s and 30’s. The very straightforward text reflects, in my opinion, a new creed for many young people:
For comparison, here’s a link to the Nicene Creed the church has embraced for hundreds of years, since its formulary roots in 325 A.D.hope faith life love dream joy truth soul
Shopping for a unique gift? Consider a gift of bookends. Get started here.
p.s. I should add that I also was inspired by my niece Annie who is intent on memorizing the gospel of John in 2013. What a noble goal for a 20-something. She posts the verses she's memorized each day on Facebook and ends with "Memorize it. Love it." Indeed.
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