I feel compelled to pick up with Karen left off yesterday. I too, sometimes lay in bed in the morning thinking I could sleep another 30 minutes and spend time in the word later in the day, but then I hear that still, small voice gently nudging me to get up and stick with the discipline. I am constantly amazed by that!
And,while that didn’t happen this morning (the day before my post will hit), I can say I was struck by the following in quite a new way:
Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deut. 11: 18,19
I was struck by this because when I’ve read it before, I don’t think I gave it its due because we don’t have children. I guess I figured it didn’t apply. But this morning, I realized that first of all, He doesn’t necessarily mean my biological children, but those I have influence over. And 2nd, and more importantly, the focus of the passage is simply for me to spend as much time in the Word as possible. So while on some mornings the pull to spend time with God and His Word is a gentle nudging, other mornings it is a shout as loud as this verse.
Now, writing this post today, makes me think of how many of us have written similar postings about the struggles we sometimes have with sticking with this discipline. For me, though, it comes back to you all. I praise God every day for guiding me to this group. Without you and the reminder that we are all doing this together, I might not have been able to stick with it.
Father God, thank you for your Word, and thank you for the gift of this group.
AMEN
Jim
(jmitch1)
Sixty-six books in a year 
Glad it has been a good year for you – I know I have certainly been blessed by your posts and I’m sure I’m not the only one! And I know what you mean, sometimes it takes committment to someone or something beyond yourself to get or keep going. Even though you know it is beneficial that extra push is often helpful. Must be why community is so often stressed in the Scriptures!
I know I’ve gotten more out of it than if I had done this myself. I’ve benefited from the insight of others over scripture I don’t always understand, or may gloss over. So glad to have you as part of the team, Jim.
Courtney