My second day in Spain is coming to a close, and what a great day it was. We were able to wake up late today. After a breakfast of coffee, a muffin, an orange, and some cookies, our whole group of Americans met up for a tour of Granada and for a break from Spanish. (It turns out that I wasn't the only one struggling to understand or speak to our host families.) On our tour, we saw the beautiful Spanish architecture, places to shop and dine, and where our classes will be. I know right now that it is going to be really hard to leave this place.
After our tour, my roommate and I explored the city a bit, then went home for lunch. Today is El Dia de Los Reyes which means the Day of the Kings which celebrates the multiple astrologers who followed the star in the East to find the "King of the Jews", aka Jesus (Matthew 2:1). In Spain, the three kings are equated to Santa Claus, who brings the gifts to the children. So, our host mom gave us scarves this morning, and we spent lunch with our host mom and some of her family which included her daughter, son-in-law, and grandchild. We had a very filling three course meal, and I had my first alcoholic drink! Afterwards, my roommate and I went to explore again. We unexpectedly bumped into another four girls from our group. ¡Que surpresa! What a surprise! We had no plans, so we decided to just go explore. We passed some shops and wandered up some more paths. We started following other tourists and came across a sort of park with a beautiful view of the Alhambra and city of Granada lit up against the dark night sky...past some trees and a building. So it wasn't the most perfect view, but it was a great find. Then we went to get some tapas (snacks) for the first time, which ended up being fries and chicken wings. Finally, we went home for dinner.
Before starting my work, I decided to read some of my Bible. I hadn't read this morning. After reading the introduction to Jude and just one verse (the last one of the book), I was in awe of God. I began prayer journaling. I was filled with gratitude and love for Jesus, so I started playing some music and worshipped. By the end, I felt filled with the Holy Spirit and felt compelled to write this! This is how I feel when I'm filled with the Holy Spirit: abundantly joyful, prepared to face the world and any attacks from the devil, and on fire to glorify/listen to/live for/tell others about Jesus. What an incredible feeling! The only issue is, it's the end of the day. I am about to fall asleep and probably lose this "Jesus high". I am not really going to see anyone else for the rest of the day. My "fire" can spread nowhere.
Why am I writing this? I am not only trying to share my day with you. I'm not trying to brag about how I read my Bible today. Granted, it has taken me a while, but I am writing this to tell you:
Fill up in the morning.
Reading the Bible, praying, worshipping, and anything else that could possibly fill you with the Holy Spirit needs to happen in the morning before you start your day, face the world and the devil, try to reach your goals, meet opportunities to share Jesus with others. Without filling up in the morning, we run the risk of forgetting about Jesus all day. We run the risk of making decisions that we want instead of making decisions that He wants. Yes, you can still bring glory to God throughout your day without setting aside 15-45 minutes at the beginning of your day. Yes, you shouldn't only spend personal time with Him in the morning. But you need to know and remember that, yes, you need to fill up in the morning.
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