I love mornings. Sometimes late at night I will be watching TV and see a coffee commercial pop up and I just want to go to bed so that I can wake up again! I love the peace of the morning, the cool crisp air, the hush that has fallen over our house like a snuggly blanket–and I definitely love a warm coffee mug nestled in my hands. But my mornings are not in vain! They are an integral part of my day, the time I set my mind on what matters, I plan, I rest, and I am refreshed. The days that I sleep in and miss the stillness of a sleeping household, my days are kind of like a car running out of gas. I feel like I am lurching around, all start and stop and no smoothness. There is no question about it, mornings are crucial around here.
PIN ME!
10 reasons I love my morning quiet time
1. It allows me to focus my mind.
I am a driven person, but I lack focus. I need a few minutes to breathe deep, to gather my jumble of a brain and organize my thoughts.
2. I spend time with God.
I NEED my time with God each day. My devotional times are not dry, stagnant or boring. They are living, exciting, and crazy! I pour out my heart, my struggles and my worries and God speaks and ministers back to me. This is the time where I plug the coordinates into my navigation system you guys (sorry, car analogy). “THIS” is the day I want to have God and then God shows me a map, He shows me what He wants me to do, He helps me curb my expectations and keep my eyes focused on Him so that when we aren’t going the right direction through the day, I can hear His voice guiding and directing my steps.
3. It gives me a control to compare
Ok, scientifically speaking, a control is what you use to compare your results to. You have a control experiment and then you change the variables and contrast them with that control environment or experiment or activity. I need this in my day! If I do not have that little taste of rest, of peace and quiet… then the chaos just keeps getting more and more chaotic, and I usually miss the point I should have stood up and said “pause!”. Drinking my coffee in the stillness of my own rambled thoughts reminds me what true rest looks like.
4. It gives me time to choose my attitude
We have all heard the cliche quote “you always have a choice,” and yet I think we miss a crucial point. While we are responsible for our actions and attitudes and behaviour, there are certain things that we do that remove our ability to make good decisions. Some examples would be exhaustion or lack of sleep, for some of us a good cup of coffee, and for nearly all of us… lack of time.
Let me explain: when you wake up to the sound of fighting and screaming and the kids need you and your toddler is about to pee on the floor while your 7 year old is bossing around your 3 year old and and and…. (you get the point) you have no time to choose your response. You are not responding to the situation… you are reacting! The house is on fire, there’s no time to figure out a course of action… it’s go time people! I know myself. I can be exhausted but if I have had a bit of time to myself to breathe, drink coffee, do my devotions: I can have an amazing day with my kids. If however I sleep in and wake up to CHAOS… it’s pretty much a total write off.
5. It gives me time to plan
I LOVE planning. I am a list maker (not necessarily a list do-er, but that is for another post). I like to plan my day and make some goals. Even if I never check off my list, writing out my thoughts in an organized way is incredible helpful to me.
6. I need time to be creative and pursue my interests.
I spend my days as mom and homemaker and my evenings relaxing with my hubby, this leaves very little time to pursue my own interests and be creative. I am not super artistic, but I am learning (thanks to Illustrated Faith). I love spending a bit of time experimenting and trying something new.
7. It sets the tone for my day.
If all the points before this are the framework, my entire day is set on this. It isn’t something I have to choose to do or think about, it’s just a natural consequence of having time alone in the mornings.
8. It kick starts my day.
I am more motivated when I get up early. I don’t feel like I am racing the clock. When you are a perfectionist like I am, you kind of have an all-or-nothing mentality and getting up early means we have an “all” day.
9. I have time to take care of myself.
You know as well as I that no matter what, we come last. It is just plain logistics. When I get up early in the morning, I get dressed, I have time for a shower, I eat breakfast. I naturally take better care of myself because I can!
10. I am happier.
I am motivated, taken care of, refreshed and encouraged, inspired and engaged, all of these things practically spell happy. My kids notice it, my husband notices it. It is never easy to wake up you guys, but I never ever ever regret doing it!
Keeping Up with Quiet Time
Now, in an effort to be brutally honest, these are the reasons I love mornings and these are the very real benefits of waking up early. That being said… it does NOT always happen! Some seasons it does not happen at all. While other seasons in my life I wake up early religiously. It really all comes down to a shift in your day. I often will find myself staying up late at night to work and yet my efficiency is terrible late at night! Then I find myself too tired to wake up in the morning and the cycle continues. The key to getting up early is to GO. TO. BED! I know, captain obvious, but I think we need the reminder. It is too easy to settle in to night time and watch TV long past when our body is telling us it’s time for sleep.
What I use for my devotion time
My devotion time and journaling time is not complete without my devotional kit from DaySpring’s Illustrated Faith. These kits include stamps and ink, stickers and clips, a devotional with room for creative expression, washi tape, and memory cards. My number one favorite thing about these kits is the fact that there is a new one each month! While it is not a subscription, they are constantly releasing new kits for purchase. It doesn’t take me long to become bored and stop using something. Yet when it shows up at my door and is new and bright and fresh, I can’t help but get excited, motivated and inspired to get creative. Learn more at their website HERE or by clicking on the image below.
Through Christ Devotional Kit
Do you wake up early? Join the conversation below!
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