I enjoy getting up early.  Particularly when I'm up before everyone else in the house.  It's some of the most peaceful and serene moments of the day.  It's 4:59am as I write this.  I'm listening to Patrick O'Hearn, sipping a cup of Vermont Country Blend and my little dog Sparky is chewing on his rawhide toy at my feet.  Now this is simple.  When I turned the light on in the kitchen even Flash, my grandson's fish (we are fish sitting) appeared to be sleeping… or so I hope it's sleeping.  I better check on that!

Solitude.  The mystics and desert fathers wrote and spoke of the value of solitude.  Even Jesus was prone to slip away into "desolate places" in order to be refreshed, renewed and restored.  It's in the quieting of the soul that life finds order, perspective and peace again.  I have always been fragmented in some ways concerning solitude.  In my early years I constantly felt the pull to be around people.  I sought the approval of the crowd, bowing to the need to belong and fit in.  At 46 I do not place too much value on the approval of the crowd.  At the end of the day, the crowd is nameless and faceless in that my identity and significance should not be drawn from that place of need.

I have a gift in a couple of quiet hours to recalibrate the scale of my soul and prepare myself to greet the day with a hearty "Good morning."

Grace and Peace