Humor me a moment as I describe my perfect morning. After a good nights rest I would get out of bed by 5:30 a.m., pour a cup of coffee and sit down in the living room with a blanket, my Bible, and prayer journal. When I first wake I like it quiet. Don’t talk to me. I want to spend a few minutes slowly waking up and preparing to start the day. I like to write in the mornings. I like to read my Bible and pray. Therefore, the first hour is mine.

 On this perfect morning, an hour or so later, I would receive a phone call from my prayer and accountability partner who is a pastor’s wife in Arkansas. For the next 30 minutes to an hour we would talk about scripture, share burdens and encourage one another. Then slowly my children would wake up and we would begin our morning routine. I’ve spent many mornings just like the one described above. However, there is one thing wrong with the above picture…..there is no mention of my husband. I realize that there are some men who are perfectly content with being left alone in the mornings but not mine. He gets up early and wants to talk about the day. He wants his coffee and a companion to share it with. He wants a hot breakfast of biscuits, gravy, sausage and scrambled eggs. So, what’s a girl to do?

 The “whitewashed feminist” in me screams out that “I need my time too.” But, is this the correct Biblical response? As a child of God and my husband’s help meet what kind of example would I be if I neglected him in order to study the Bible? I remember the day clearly when God convicted me. My husband never said a word. He just went to the kitchen and started cooking breakfast while I sat on the couch with my Bible in one hand and the phone in the other. All of a sudden, I did not feel very spiritual. Bible study in itself was not wrong, but my attitude sure was. So I got off the phone, put up my Bible, for a later time in the day, and with a repentant heart began to serve. Am I saying that cooking breakfast is a more spiritual work than studying the Bible? Yes, in this case I am because God is always concerned with the heart.