All morning, all day long....

I was driving to work yesterday morning and had the most amazing worship time in my car. I was jammin' to my Avalon Greatest Hits c.d. (oh please, buy one immediately if you haven't!) and absolutely loving the song "Everything To Me". I can NOT sing that song all the way through without my throat tightening, my voice cracking, and my eyes filling up with tears. A strange fact, because I've listened to it regularly for almost a full year now. Usually songs we "over-listen-to" lose their effect, but not this one. So there I was, driving to work, singing Avalon at the top of my lungs, and feeling as if Jesus Himself sat in the passenger seat beside me.

After work, I got back in my car, the same c.d. still in my player, and drove home. Yet - something was different. My heart just wasn't the same. Nothing bad had happened during the day, I didn't feel as if I had some giant unconfessed sin hanging over my head, but something just didn't feel the same. I ended up listening to the Christian radio station instead, and singing along, but it was nowhere near the same experience I had that morning.

Why?

It could be several reasons, of course, but the one I believe was true for yesterday was the sipmle fact that - the day had gotten in the way. My day - full of work, people, attitudes, chores, copies, books, letters, networking, writing, blogging, eating, laughter, frustration, and Diet Coke - had taken precedence over the course of the afternoon. Just a regular day, but without a concentrated effort to keep Jesus beside me. It makes a difference. And is an effort I will make today.

How would that change our writing? I know most of you, if not all, pray to some degree before/during/after working on your WIP. But what we boosted it up? What if we spent REAL time in prayer before commiting our words to paper? Made an ongoing effort to talk to Jesus as if He sat beside us at work? At our desk? At home? On the couch? On the windowseat? What if we truly sought God's timing, plan, path and guidance before loading up the computer and typing away? I feel God has a bigger blessing in store for us if we just ask for it! If we just confess to Him how helpless we are without Him. My new phrase for my writing career, one I sign into several books, is "Without Christ, my words are in vain." This is something I remind myself daily. Without Jesus, I...am...nothing. My words are empty. He is the breath that revives my words. Without His life, I am dead.

The realization in my car yesterday had me thinking something else inspiring...I truly believe that Heaven will be an amped up, totally extreme version of my morning worship time. In Heaven, there won't be a "day" between worship to separate us from Christ. We'll be WITH Him! No more sin. No more distractions. Our words of praise will flow easily. No more writer's block! Can I get an AMEN to that?

I can't help but think that, in a sense, it'll be 'All morning, all day long'. =)