It's Friday morning at 6 a.m. and here I sit, sipping my coffee and wondering how in the world one hour can rush by so quickly.......

A little time in the kitchen, giving Peppy a morning treat, staring a pot of coffee, and reading a bit while waiting for it to brew......

It's crazy to me how an hour can pass by so quickly when I'm loving every second.

When I'm all in the moment, totally present in the breathing in and out of all that's around me, I am....

Fully present.

These two words together became a phrase my husband used several years ago when I was struggling with enjoying life, living in grief, missing our boys that had moved away.

"Tammy, be fully present," he said, "Enjoy this moment."

I've not forgotten those two words though I often struggle to remember the beauty and power that comes from living them out completely.

Fully present.

I wonder if that's why God chose to send His Son down to us.

He needed us to know He was here......fully  present with us.

Galatians 4:4 says,

"But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son..."

The gift of His Son is just that.....a "present" of His Presence.

And it came when time had "fully" come.......

Fully Present.

Jesus became the model of how we should live, and maybe it's just me but I think the devil has fought it ever since.

He competes for our attention through social media, cell phones, television, insecurity, and every other kind of distraction that keeps us from being fully present right where we are.

God is working on me this year.

He's working hard.

He's pointing out weaknesses and drawing my attention to things about me that need refined, reshaped, restructured, renewed, and restored.

I've asked for it, so I don't know why it's surprising me that He's being so clear,

but

I'm learning everyday that even though I feel as if I have already been through the fire enough times in my life,

God still has a lot of refining to do inside of me.

And today, He's speaking loudly about the joy of being totally captivated by the very minute in which I am breathing.

Yes.

Captivated by the minute that I am doing dishes.

Or folding laundry.

Or getting ready for work.

Or riding on a bus with 16 teenagers to an academic competition.

Yes, God somehow grabbed my attention this morning as I sipped my coffee, read the Bible, prayed, and then wondered what in the world I had to say to you today.

He made it very clear that I had nothing to say to you.

He had something to say to me.

And so, I'm just sharing what I'm learning about what I need to change in my own heart, my own mind....

daily

weekly

monthly.

My camera helps me soak up the present, and I can always tell when I'm slipping because my camera stays on the shelf for longer and longer periods of time.

I am a photographer at heart.

And a writer.

When I lose touch with either of these two forms of art, I begin to lose touch with myself.

So, I'm taking my camera today to an academic meet.

I want to take pictures for the yearbook, but I'm just guessing God has some other plans for my camera today.

And when I lose myself in His plans,

I find myself again.

Today, I'm praying that each of you can lose yourself in God's plans for you.

In the losing of yourself, I'm praying that you can find Him powerfully present.

Fully present.

In you and with you.

When we allow Him to become fully present within us,

I believe we learn to live fully present with others.

Let this be our prayer today:

Lord, I'm here.

Fully aware of you.

Speak to me.

Use me.

And help me be fully present to the world around me.