Reason #257
My plans were canceled tonight due to the rain. I made it home just in time to get my clean car in the garage before the dark clouds opened and poured down rain. So I took the opportunity to be a bum tonight. I had no agenda. I put on my sweatpants, laid on the couch, watched the season premiers of my favorite shows and stuffed my face with muffins. It was a good night. I haven't had a lounging night at home in a long time. Truthfully, I was thankful for a good reason to stay in and do nothing.
I've gotten used to living by myself now. It's been about a month that I've been living on my own and I'm getting pretty spoiled by this arrangement, however, I'm not the only one. Scout has received a lot of attention over the past year. I lovingly refer to her as "girlfriend," and girlfriend has been smothered with love and affection. She is used to being doted on because it's just the two of us. She gets a lot of snuggle time, maybe a little too much. She is the sole recipient of my attention at home and she'll beg shamelessly and relentlessly for it, too. If she wants to be held, she'll make her desires well known. Truth be told, I give in pretty easily because it's hard to tell 5 pounds of scraggly cuteness no. And so, I took advantage of our time at home tonight. I let her sit in my lap, sleep on my stomach and even lay on my head as I watched TV. She just wants to be close, close as she can get. She'll curl her tiny body up to fit perfectly in my arms or on my lap and lay there until I move her. She doesn't get up, she doesn't walk away to occupy herself with other activities, she doesn't get tired of being around me, no, she just wants to be in my presence as long as possible and as close as possible.
Quality time is nice, and honestly, how enjoyable and comforting is it to spend some one on one time with someone you love? How nice is it to know that you are the sole recipient of their affection and attention? But how often do we take the opportunity to just sit and soak up time with them, to get as close as possible and stay as long as we can? We're busy, life is busy. We work, we have a social life, obilgations and responsibilities, relationships, chores, and the list goes on and on. So we don't sit. We're never still and we make our lives busy because being still seems unproductive. Why sit when you can cram your schedule full?
I need to take a lesson from Scout. I felt frazzled on Sunday. Frazzled and worn out because I've been going a mile a minute. I realized I needed to stop, I needed to be still, and I needed to just spend time with Him. Sit in His presence and be near. Stay as long as possible and get as close as possible. There's a difference between doing things for God and spending time with God, and it was amazing what a little quality time did for my spirit. I didn't have to talk, I didn't have to entertain or follow an agenda, I just sat still, rested. And I wonder how much easier life would be if I did this often. Because the truth is, I have His attention and affection but I don't take the time to receive it because I keep myself moving. I don't have to jump through hoops or get scheduled on His calendar in order to spend quality time with Him. I simply have to do it. What if I stayed there until He moved me? What if I just camped out at His feet and soaked up my time with Him? What if I was relentless about it, too?
As much as I love having a cute, sweet little dog beg to be in my presence, I can only imagine how much more our Heavenly Father loves for us to simply desire to spend time in His presence. And we don't have to beg, we don't have to be shameless about asking for it either, because He wants to spend time with us, too. He wants us to enjoy and soak up time in His presence. If He didn't, He wouldn't have sent His only Son to be nailed to a tree. So sit still. Draw close, let Him smother you with love and affection, take advantage of being the sole recipient of His attention, and when you're there, stay as long as possible.
#257 - Because He smothers us with His love, attention and affection.
"You have endowed [me] with eternal blessings and given [me] the joy of your presence." - Psalm 21:6
I've gotten used to living by myself now. It's been about a month that I've been living on my own and I'm getting pretty spoiled by this arrangement, however, I'm not the only one. Scout has received a lot of attention over the past year. I lovingly refer to her as "girlfriend," and girlfriend has been smothered with love and affection. She is used to being doted on because it's just the two of us. She gets a lot of snuggle time, maybe a little too much. She is the sole recipient of my attention at home and she'll beg shamelessly and relentlessly for it, too. If she wants to be held, she'll make her desires well known. Truth be told, I give in pretty easily because it's hard to tell 5 pounds of scraggly cuteness no. And so, I took advantage of our time at home tonight. I let her sit in my lap, sleep on my stomach and even lay on my head as I watched TV. She just wants to be close, close as she can get. She'll curl her tiny body up to fit perfectly in my arms or on my lap and lay there until I move her. She doesn't get up, she doesn't walk away to occupy herself with other activities, she doesn't get tired of being around me, no, she just wants to be in my presence as long as possible and as close as possible.
Quality time is nice, and honestly, how enjoyable and comforting is it to spend some one on one time with someone you love? How nice is it to know that you are the sole recipient of their affection and attention? But how often do we take the opportunity to just sit and soak up time with them, to get as close as possible and stay as long as we can? We're busy, life is busy. We work, we have a social life, obilgations and responsibilities, relationships, chores, and the list goes on and on. So we don't sit. We're never still and we make our lives busy because being still seems unproductive. Why sit when you can cram your schedule full?
I need to take a lesson from Scout. I felt frazzled on Sunday. Frazzled and worn out because I've been going a mile a minute. I realized I needed to stop, I needed to be still, and I needed to just spend time with Him. Sit in His presence and be near. Stay as long as possible and get as close as possible. There's a difference between doing things for God and spending time with God, and it was amazing what a little quality time did for my spirit. I didn't have to talk, I didn't have to entertain or follow an agenda, I just sat still, rested. And I wonder how much easier life would be if I did this often. Because the truth is, I have His attention and affection but I don't take the time to receive it because I keep myself moving. I don't have to jump through hoops or get scheduled on His calendar in order to spend quality time with Him. I simply have to do it. What if I stayed there until He moved me? What if I just camped out at His feet and soaked up my time with Him? What if I was relentless about it, too?
As much as I love having a cute, sweet little dog beg to be in my presence, I can only imagine how much more our Heavenly Father loves for us to simply desire to spend time in His presence. And we don't have to beg, we don't have to be shameless about asking for it either, because He wants to spend time with us, too. He wants us to enjoy and soak up time in His presence. If He didn't, He wouldn't have sent His only Son to be nailed to a tree. So sit still. Draw close, let Him smother you with love and affection, take advantage of being the sole recipient of His attention, and when you're there, stay as long as possible.
#257 - Because He smothers us with His love, attention and affection.
"You have endowed [me] with eternal blessings and given [me] the joy of your presence." - Psalm 21:6
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