What if you could wake up every morning and have some quiet and peaceful time to yourself before the chaos of the day begins? How would a morning routine change your day? Does it sound too good to be true? It’s not, I promise!
A couple of months ago, I wrote about the morning routine I adopted this year, and I’m still going strong. I love having 30 minutes to myself (which is rare with a 4 and a 2 year old!) to read the Bible and pray without any distractions.
Recently, I heard Kat Lee speak. She started InspiredToAction.com and HelloMornings.org, which are resources to empower mothers and to help you build a morning routine. I thought her message was so inspiring for those struggling to start/create a morning routine, that I asked her if I could share some of her knowledge with my readers.
3 Minute Morning
Kat says to start small when building a morning routine. Everyone can spare 3 minutes, right? So here’s how you start with 3 minutes…
- God time – Pray Psalm 143:8 – “Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life.” - Plan time – Check your calendar for the day, and ask God for guidance on your tasks.
- Move time – Drink a glass of water and/or stretch, so you’ll have energy to live out God’s purpose with joy.
Create the Habit
Kat writes on InspiredToAction…
“I’m sure many of you are just itching to be early risers and have super productive mornings. But when developing a morning routine, we need to FOCUS on the HABIT… Everyone loves radical change. It’s fun. But right now, those measurements are distractions from our true goal – the HABIT of waking up early to get with God.
A habit is something we do automatically and it is acquired slowly through small simple changes. It isn’t cool, flashy or impressive. But once we’ve practiced it enough, it becomes automatic. It becomes easy to get out of bed in the morning and to bounce back into our habit after sickness, vacation or other disruptions.
A Habit Script – like the 3 Minute Morning – is something we can build on. We can always add more Bible study, deeper planning or fitness choices, but on crazy days, having a Habit script allows us to scale back and KEEP OUR HABIT GOING so that we don’t start ‘missing days’ and then give up.”
Avoid “I’m Too Tired” EXCUSES
“’I love staying up late – the quiet, the lack of interruptions, the feeling that I get a couple of extra hours added to my day. The only problem is that I’m borrowing the quality from the next day.’ Truth.
Tonight I challenge you to go to bed 15 minutes earlier, so that tomorrow you can wake up 15 minutes earlier and squash the ‘I’m too tired to get up excuse.’ Are you up for the challenge?”
GivE Yourself Grace
“We decide that we don’t care if we miss a day, we just start again the next. A year from now it won’t matter if you missed 1 or 100 days if you’re still working at it. Progress, not perfection.
‘Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.’ Heb 4:16
Olympians don’t sacrifice, struggle and push themselves beyond comfort every day just because they should. They have a very clear and specific goal. The Olympic Gold Medal. One thing. One dream. One tangible purpose.
Name your goal. ‘I want to be a patient mother.’ ‘I want to be joyful.’ ‘I want God to heal my broken heart.’ ‘I want a deeper passion for God.’ ‘I want a greater understanding of the Scriptures.’ ‘I want to be whole so that my children can be whole.’ ‘I want to walk free from my sin.’ ‘I want God to use me to help others.’
What is the one thing you want God to do in your life right now? Name it and cling to it. Let it be the dream that drives you out of bed.”
The Father’s Love
Barcelona. 1992. Derek Redmon was Britain’s greatest quarter miler.
BANG!! Off to a good start, his prospects for the race looked good. Until…
Until his hamstring snapped. Yes, snapped. He stumbled and fell to the ground. With cameramen snapping pictures and the world watching, he was consumed with the pain of his broken body and broken dream.
And then? He made a decision. To finish. He knew he wouldn’t come in 1st, 2nd or 3rd. He knew he wouldn’t cross the finish line in victory. But he decided he would cross that line. So, up he struggled and he hobbled down the track, grimacing in pain.
Then, in the background, something happened in the stands. A man, older, grayer than Derek, pushed past people, waved off guards and ran down the track. His face was filled with the furious love of a father.
He pushed away officials. He pushed away security personnel. He pushed away anyone who dared interfere. He wrapped his arms around his weeping son and together they finished the race.
Few could name the winner of the 400 meter gold that year. But millions of people remember Derek’s faithfulness and his father’s furious love.
You Do Not Struggle Alone.
If you are struggling, whether it’s with getting up in the morning or life in general, never believe that your Father’s love is any less furious.
He DOES NOT stand at the finish line awaiting your triumphant victory. He runs alongside you, cheering you as you go. And when you struggle, when you fall, He wraps His all powerful, healing hands around you and and holds you as you press on. Together.
He will let nothing get in His way.
You can do this!
I hope Kat’s message inspires you to start a morning routine like it did for me. Start small and create a habit. God is eager to walk alongside you in your daily journey.
All quoted text is from post links on this site: http://inspiredtoaction.com/resources/maximize-your-mornings-blog-series/. Big thanks to Kat for being such an encouragement and allowing me to share snippets from her site! Please check out Kat’s websites for more inspiration and resources!