Morning 'Cokkee'

My three-year-old is hooked on her morning 'cokkee'. Well, the rest of us call it 'coffee', but she's still working through pronunciations. 'Kingles' is sandals. 'Ca' is water. 'Gucky' is either yucky or hungry, depending on the situation (and there are times when we get confused - like the time she peed her panties and was crying that she was 'gucky' and I kept telling her "that was your choice! you should've used the potty!" then found out that she was hungry...)

Anyway, she likes her morning coffee. The coffee has evolved out of the morning drink, but she doesn't know it. It's now warm milk with a touch of Italian syrup and sugar, but she still thinks it's coffee. Soon the sugar and syrup will completely evolve out and she'll be left with warm milk. It's my wife's fault; she got her started on it. I was opposed to giving an energetic child caffeine in the morning. But in all reality, it started out as a splash of coffee (about 1/4 inch deep) in her sippie cup.

So, she is like her mommy and daddy - she likes her morning coffee. Ya know, you just can't start the day without it. I don't know how I managed to get going for 30 years without it. For several of those years I started the day with a beer. Then my wife got me hooked on coffee. Started off sorta like my daughter's cup, 1/4 inch of coffee in a cup filled with sugar and milk. That's still the way my wife drinks it. Now, I brew a different pot for myself. Mine's dark roast. And strong. And I don't add anything to it, except the very rare heavy cream.

I've learned that there is something better with which we can start our days. It's a morning communion with our loving Father in Heaven. I know, I've started many days this way. Those days seem to be peaceful and easy to manage. I really enjoy the days that begin with a prayer. So why don't I start every day with a prayer?

Well, this morning, I woke up at 5:00 to help my wife get ready for work. Then I went back to bed. I told myself that I'd pray when I got up at 7:00. My alarm went off at 7:00 and I hit the snooze button; several times. When I finally got up, it was almost 8:00. I had to get online and check my e-mail, the status of Tropical Storm Beryl (even though it's nowhere near Texas) the news... and get my morning coffee. I neglected to pray.

Other mornings, I wake up and start praying, only to fall back to sleep 'cuz I was too lazy to get out of bed and talk with the awesome One that created me. Still other mornings, I just don't think about it. I allow the enemy to steal my time away from me. And many of those days I suffer the consequences.

A morning devotional and prayer time makes a marked improvement on the day. It's really worth the attempt to continue. Won't you join me in committing to a more active prayer life? I'm not asking you to give me 30 minutes of prayer every morning. If 30 seconds gets you started, do it. Soon you'll find, as I have, that it may take much longer.

And you'll find your days filled with peace, I promise.

Be cheerful no matter what; pray all the time; thank God no matter what happens. This is the way God wants you who belong to Christ Jesus to live.

Don't suppress the Spirit, and don't stifle those who have a word from the Master. On the other hand, don't be gullible. Check out everything, and keep only what's good. Throw out anything tainted with evil.

May God himself, the God who makes everything holy and whole, make you holy and whole, put you together—spirit, soul, and body—and keep you fit for the coming of our Master, Jesus Christ. The One who called you is completely dependable. If he said it, he'll do it!

- 1 Thessalonians 5:16-24, The Message