Amazing, But I'm Not Sure Why

I may ramble a bit here, but I would like to tell you what has me fired up these last couple of days. I just finished the book, Quitter, by Jon Acuff. If you recall, Jon is the writer of a couple of other books, most notably Stuff Christians Like. The point of Quitter is basically, "Don't quit your day job." I, like many, falsely believed the lie that in order to pursue my dream of being a songwriter/recording artist, I would have to quit my steady, full-time job and live on faith and ramen noodles to make my dream come true. In fact, other leadership authors have basically said the same thing. The most clear message I had in my head was "leap and the net will appear". That may be the case, but I think that message is incomplete. It should go something like "leap at the right time and the net will appear" or "build a net, then climb the ladder and leap." Anyway, I told you I might ramble.


My whole way of thinking about my "day job" has been transformed by this book. I used to think of it as an obstacle to my dream. Now I think of it as a springboard. There is one thing, though, that I have had to adjust. I have had to start getting up e-a-r-l-y in the morning to read and write and pray and "hustle" if I want to close the gap between my day job and my dream job.

I am not a morning person.

At all.

Those two sentences deserved their own paragraphs.

As soon as I made the commitment to start getting up at 5am to get out to my office/studio for some creative time, I started second-guessing myself and setting my alarm for 6. Why do I do that? I'll probably do it again tomorrow, knowing me. However, it seems like God had other plans. The first night, I woke up from a frightening dream at precisely 5am. I got up and worked my "dream job" and had a great time. I got several song ideas and several blog ideas as well; mostly devotional writing, which I don't really like to read, but I like to write. So weird!

The second day (today), I once again had my alarm set for 6am. Garrett came in at 4:30am after he had awoken and was scared about something. I let him get in bed between Melissa and me and tried to settle down for another 90 minutes of sleep. He was restless though, so I made him go back to his room and, at 5am, I came out here to write. Once again, God was faithful to meet me in my quiet time and spoke some new words into my life, and pen, and guitar. You get the idea.

You may have been confused by the title of this piece. Basically, I'm amazed at the level of creativity and productivity I've experienced by getting up before the roosters (and we have some in our neighborhood). I'm not sure why I'm surprised, though, when God keeps His promise.

I do believe, Lord. Help my unbelief.

Question for you: Is there something you feel you need to change about your life, or habits, or routine? Maybe "leap and the net will appear" isn't bad advice after all, when it is in the proper context.