Nancy Parker Brummett

Author Writer Speaker

Morning

Fueled by Delight

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A bonus sermon I heard over the holidays has me heading into the New Year fueled by delight. Pastor Aaron Stern spoke to a small congregation gathered in Pauline Chapel in Colorado Springs about the importance of spending time daily, quietly, in the presence of God. We’ve always known that it’s good for us, in fact delights us, to dedicate time seeking God through His word, through prayer, and through listening for Him to speak. (See The Quiet Time Cat.)

But Pastor Stern said something that resonated with me in a new way. He reminded us that it also delights God when we spend time with Him! So after our morning quiet time we can go into our day fueled not just by our delight in God, but by God’s delight in us. Wow.

A wonderful Bible promise is found in Psalm 37:4: Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart. We find delight in Him. Yet one of my favorite Bible verses is Zephaniah 3:17: The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing. That’s how much He delights in us. A two-way relationship of delight is the gift that is ours for the asking.

Given all this, I choose DELIGHT as my word for 2022. With the Lord as my guide, I will pay attention to the ways I can seek Him and delight in Him. And I will try not to miss any opportunity to experience and receive His delight in me. In the past it’s been during the most menial acts of service that I felt God’s pleasure most. I want to look for opportunities to feel, and receive, His pleasure and delight more often.

I realize it may be hard to hold on to delight in 2022. Certainly it was in the two preceding years. Ongoing threats to freedom of speech and election integrity in our country pierced my patriot heart. A pandemic, concerning enough in its organic state, was manipulated in destructive ways and continues to be. And most heartbreaking of all was the loss of our grandson. (See Love Like Josh.)

So how can we move forward to all the unknowns of the year to come with delight? We look for the good, and yes, there will be some. We accept the peace that the Lord offers as He speaks to us through the moments of delight He gives, like the ones He gave me one memorable afternoon at the beach with two great grandsons. We delight ourselves in Him, and believe, with all our hearts, that He also delights in us. Have a delightful New Year.

Molly, the “Quiet Time” Cat

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Molly on HassockOur cat, Molly, has what the local humane society calls the “personal assistant” purr-sonality. This means that whatever you are doing, Molly will be nearby just in case you need some help. Wrapping packages? She’ll gladly chew on the curling ribbon for you. Working on taxes? She’ll happily sprawl out over the paperwork on your desk or push ballpoint pens and paper clips onto the floor to keep you entertained. Just whatever she can do to help.

Unlike her boisterous brother Beau (also a cat), she doesn’t burst into a room demanding attention. Rather, she usually curls up just outside the door—an eavesdropper with whiskers. Whenever we have a group of people over, she’s likely to claim a spot under the coffee table as if she were an invited guest. She rarely gets close enough to anyone to be petted. She just wants to listen in on the conversation and stay nearby to help with any hospitality requirements.

Given all that, you won’t be surprised to hear that for years she has consistently joined me early in the morning during my quiet time. As I sit and read, work on a Bible study, or turn to the Lord in prayer, she just sits on the hassock in front of me purring softly. She’s rarely in the chair with me or on my lap, just right in front of me where she can be ready to help if needed, and where I can give her an occasional pat on the head or a rub behind the ears.

What is surprising is that recently she has come to expect that this shared time with me will happen on schedule—and to be quite demanding if it doesn’t! The coffee is set to perk at 6:30 AM, so if she hears it perking, and sees the sunrise, she knows I need to be in my chair in the living room. If I’m not moving in that direction, she now meows persistently outside the door of our bedroom to get my attention. After I roll out of bed, find my robe and slippers, and open the door, she takes off down the hall to keep our appointment with the Almighty.

Now wouldn’t you think that knowing the Lord of the Universe was willing to spend some time with me would be enough to get me out of bed? Shouldn’t it be enough that He who hung the stars and gives life to everything that has life may have something important to tell me? The answer to both questions is yes. Yet it helps to have a feline alarm clock.

And I don’t mind sharing my quiet time with Molly. After all, Psalm 150:6 says, Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. In this season of my life God is using this sweet little grayish cat to bolster my spiritual discipline. Her faithfulness keeps me faithful, and I’m ever so grateful.