Kristin chronicles life as wife and mother of four with daily musings about what’s cooking at The Schell Café. Passionate about cooking and gathering family around the table, she knows the truth that man cannot live by bread alone and shares her faith story and love for Jesus Christ at The Kitchen Mission. Someday, Lord willin’ and the creek don’t rise, the two sites will merge. Until then you can find Kristin at her blogs or on twitter @theschellcafe.
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The Schell Café is more than my little nook in the blogosphere, it is quite literally my kitchen. By day, the command center bursts with activity generated by our family of six – meals, snacks, homework, crafts, home office, portal to the backyard and catch-all for backpacks, Legos and tutus.
In the pre-dawn hours of the morning, this normally chaotic space is a quiet refuge. It is my meeting place with the Lord.
For my 40th birthday Husband gave me a prayer couch for the kitchen. Before you google ‘kitchen prayer couch’, rest assured it’s just a regular old sofa I placed in the kitchen, but it is special. This is where I meet the Lord in the throne room of grace.
What does my morning couch time look like?
From an earthly perspective, I guarantee it’s not pretty and bed-head is definitely involved. Very early I make my way downstairs. After several years of this early morning time with the Lord, we’ve both come to expect it, and I usually wake up without an alarm about 5:30 am (although this morning He moved the appointment time up to 4:45 am!).
Cozy on the couch, still in darkness, I greet the Lord with praise and adoration, something like this:
Good Morning Lord. Thank you for the gift of this peaceful, quiet morning. You are an awesome God – the author & perfecter of our faith. You are merciful, righteous & steadfast. You are my rock & my redeemer. My protector. My shepherd. You alone are worthy of all my praise.
As I reach to turn on the lamp Psalm 119:105 floats across my heart:
Your word is a lamp to my feet
and a light for my path.
What follows next varies but I always dig in to scripture with my prayer journal close by. Currently, I’m participating in the Bible in 90 Days Challenge. I spend about 30 – 40 minutes on the readings taking notes in the margins of my Bible or in my prayer journal for further study.
During the academic year, I attend our women’s bible study at church. I use my couch time for daily scripture reading of our study. I’m part of the leadership team, but I don’t use couch time for ministry work, although I certainly pray for it!
After time in the Word, or as the Holy Spirit leads, I pray. Really the entire morning is a continuous prayer, but I focus more intently after my readings and like to follow the ACTS prayer. Adoration. Confession. Thanksgiving. Supplication. If the Littles remain asleep, I close my couch time quietly listening to the Lord.
By now the sun filters through the windows and my kitchen begins to buzz. Throughout the day, my prayer couch will host a child needing a band-aid, another wanting hugs, and a hungry Husband waiting for dinner. I smile and my heart is in anticipation of my next meeting with the Lord whose mercies are new every morning.
Blessings,
Kristin