I wouldn't call myself a morning person--especially these days!
Over the last year I've fallen into the habit of staying up late.
Staying up to watch mindless TV, blog, do my nails,
anything, as long as I'm alone. I love the quietness.
I love doing whatever I want!
The problem:
I wake up miserable. cranky. annoyed. exhausted.
My kids are the early to bed, early to rise type.
They rarely sleep past 6:30am.
So you can imagine when they come barreling into my room and
it's still pitch dark outside I'm less than thrilled.
I stumble out of bed, disheveled, with one eye 1/2 open.
{It's a wonder my children aren't terrified to arouse such a creature!}
I fumble to find my glasses and bathrobe, then
I start the walk to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing--
before getting half way to the kitchen I'm bombarded with
"I'm hungry!" " I want dippy eggs!" "Can I have jelly beans?"
"BE QUIET" I shout!
"Give me 10 minutes, please, just 10 minutes."
They always have a look of hurt and confusion on their faces,
as if to say "sorry mommy I was just hungry, that's all"
Ugh. I'm such a failure. I'm a horrible mother.
These poor kids. Why do I do that? Why did I yell?
Umm, the above scenerio is a less than ideal way to start ones day.
Not only did I yell at my kids and make them feel bad,
I filled my mind with horrible words about myself
before I even made it to the kitchen!
A few weeks ago I took a break from my computer {yes, a big deal for me},
to spend time seeking the Lord. I felt like he was wanting to speak with me.
So I turned off the computer and spent lots of time
reading scripture, praying, listening.
In the past when I've sought the Lord in such a diligent way,
he met me in a big way!
Revealing some great truth, or prompting me to do something 'big'..
I was expecting nothing different this time around.
Speak to me Lord! Reveal some great unknown revelation!
Show me your wonders! Do miracles!
Well he spoke. He actually spoke very clearly. More clearly than usual.
He said two things:
1) Go to bed earlier
2) Wake up earlier and spend time alone with me.
Seriously?
This is the great revelation?
Go to bed earlier?
I was thinking something a little more..uh..spiritual...
I heard these instructions and thought well that will be easy!
At least he didn't say "Move to Africa!"
HA!
I went to bed early but as I lay in bed I wondered
what was happening on facebook
(WHAT IF I MISS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!?)
I'll just check quick...
2 hours later I've read 3 different blogs, stalked some people on facebook,
and wrote and deleted a blog post of my own.
SO much for going to bed early. Oh well, I'll still get up early.
yeah. right.
SO just 2 days ago I read about a challenge called
Hello Mornings!
The challenge: Start your day off right by waking up before anyone in your house.
Spending time in the Word, praying, listening, worshipping, exercising
and organizing your day before anyone else is stirring.
Today was my first day!
And it was a great way to start off my morning.
When my kids came bursting out of their rooms I had already
spent time praying for them, I was excited to receive their hugs,
and I was ready for some dippy eggs too:)
I will admit the alarm went off at 5:15am and I may have hit snooze..
then it went off again. I prayed God please help me get up.
OK, Sarah just at least sit up. OK, I can sit up.
I sat up, OK, now put your glasses on...OK,glasses on.
Then I was suddenly overwhelmed...
Oh Lord how am I going to do this FOREVER? I can't do this.
I won't do it tomorrow, why bother today?
I heard him say 'don't worry about tomorrow. Just get up today.'
OK, just get 2 feet on the floor, that's the worst part..
1,2,3! I'M UP! I DID IT!
Once I was out of bed the morning was amazing!
Coffee {in complete silence}, worship music, prayer, journaling!
THAT is the way to start ones day!
"I will seek you in the morning and learn to walk in your ways. Step by step you'll lead me and I will follow you all of my days."
I'm writing this for 3 reasons
1) I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open! If I nap then
I'll be up late, if I'm up late..well you know..
2) I do not write anything on this blog that I don't 100% believe
or that I don't fully intend to do! In other words it's a kind of accountability. I wrote it, now I need to do it.
3) To encourage you to start your days off right!
You cannot go wrong when you start your day talking with God.
Asking him to join you in your day.
Asking him to guide your steps for the day.
I'm looking forward to this challenge,
{I might be singing a different tune at 5:15 tomorrow morning}
I can't wait to see how God moves and works in my heart and life
and the life of my family! I think we have some good mornings awaiting us:)
Check out the
HELLO MORNINGS
challenge for yourself!
Over the last year I've fallen into the habit of staying up late.
Staying up to watch mindless TV, blog, do my nails,
anything, as long as I'm alone. I love the quietness.
I love doing whatever I want!
The problem:
I wake up miserable. cranky. annoyed. exhausted.
My kids are the early to bed, early to rise type.
They rarely sleep past 6:30am.
So you can imagine when they come barreling into my room and
it's still pitch dark outside I'm less than thrilled.
I stumble out of bed, disheveled, with one eye 1/2 open.
{It's a wonder my children aren't terrified to arouse such a creature!}
I fumble to find my glasses and bathrobe, then
I start the walk to the kitchen to get the coffee brewing--
before getting half way to the kitchen I'm bombarded with
"I'm hungry!" " I want dippy eggs!" "Can I have jelly beans?"
"BE QUIET" I shout!
"Give me 10 minutes, please, just 10 minutes."
They always have a look of hurt and confusion on their faces,
as if to say "sorry mommy I was just hungry, that's all"
Ugh. I'm such a failure. I'm a horrible mother.
These poor kids. Why do I do that? Why did I yell?
Umm, the above scenerio is a less than ideal way to start ones day.
Not only did I yell at my kids and make them feel bad,
I filled my mind with horrible words about myself
before I even made it to the kitchen!
A few weeks ago I took a break from my computer {yes, a big deal for me},
to spend time seeking the Lord. I felt like he was wanting to speak with me.
So I turned off the computer and spent lots of time
reading scripture, praying, listening.
In the past when I've sought the Lord in such a diligent way,
he met me in a big way!
Revealing some great truth, or prompting me to do something 'big'..
I was expecting nothing different this time around.
Speak to me Lord! Reveal some great unknown revelation!
Show me your wonders! Do miracles!
Well he spoke. He actually spoke very clearly. More clearly than usual.
He said two things:
1) Go to bed earlier
2) Wake up earlier and spend time alone with me.
Seriously?
This is the great revelation?
Go to bed earlier?
I was thinking something a little more..uh..spiritual...
I heard these instructions and thought well that will be easy!
At least he didn't say "Move to Africa!"
HA!
I went to bed early but as I lay in bed I wondered
what was happening on facebook
(WHAT IF I MISS A BIG ANNOUNCEMENT!?)
I'll just check quick...
2 hours later I've read 3 different blogs, stalked some people on facebook,
and wrote and deleted a blog post of my own.
SO much for going to bed early. Oh well, I'll still get up early.
yeah. right.
SO just 2 days ago I read about a challenge called
Hello Mornings!
The challenge: Start your day off right by waking up before anyone in your house.
Spending time in the Word, praying, listening, worshipping, exercising
and organizing your day before anyone else is stirring.
Today was my first day!
And it was a great way to start off my morning.
When my kids came bursting out of their rooms I had already
spent time praying for them, I was excited to receive their hugs,
and I was ready for some dippy eggs too:)
I will admit the alarm went off at 5:15am and I may have hit snooze..
then it went off again. I prayed God please help me get up.
OK, Sarah just at least sit up. OK, I can sit up.
I sat up, OK, now put your glasses on...OK,glasses on.
Then I was suddenly overwhelmed...
Oh Lord how am I going to do this FOREVER? I can't do this.
I won't do it tomorrow, why bother today?
I heard him say 'don't worry about tomorrow. Just get up today.'
OK, just get 2 feet on the floor, that's the worst part..
1,2,3! I'M UP! I DID IT!
Once I was out of bed the morning was amazing!
Coffee {in complete silence}, worship music, prayer, journaling!
THAT is the way to start ones day!
"I will seek you in the morning and learn to walk in your ways. Step by step you'll lead me and I will follow you all of my days."
I'm writing this for 3 reasons
1) I'm trying desperately to keep my eyes open! If I nap then
I'll be up late, if I'm up late..well you know..
2) I do not write anything on this blog that I don't 100% believe
or that I don't fully intend to do! In other words it's a kind of accountability. I wrote it, now I need to do it.
3) To encourage you to start your days off right!
You cannot go wrong when you start your day talking with God.
Asking him to join you in your day.
Asking him to guide your steps for the day.
I'm looking forward to this challenge,
{I might be singing a different tune at 5:15 tomorrow morning}
I can't wait to see how God moves and works in my heart and life
and the life of my family! I think we have some good mornings awaiting us:)
Check out the
HELLO MORNINGS
challenge for yourself!
Total awesomesauce, girl! You're not the only one going through this exact same thing. (me too) Love ya! :)
ReplyDeletethat is me too! My kids have ALWAYS been early birds, anywhere from 5am-7am(and that is late for these guys!)! I stay up too late, but on days I work I do get up at 515 and feel better, now just to do it on the days I don't work. that is the challenge!
ReplyDeleteNice. I just read a devotional for women on this sort of aspect- more on organizing your whole life, but it started with the 5:15 club. I used to do it until I had Dex. So, when the baby comes, it's OK to sleep in for a while since you'll be up at night...I spent my quiet time with the Lord at 2:30am while nursing. I just got to go back to bed afterward. Just sayin'
ReplyDeleteumm...you could have easily described a morning scenario from my house down to the beating myself up part.
ReplyDeletethanks for the encouragment.
heather
This comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteHi Sarah, I found your blog because you started following me on twitter. I thought I would come by and check it out. Turns out we are VERY much alike. This post grabbed me...GRABBED me! This is very similar to what I have been dealing with. Thanks for the encouragement.
ReplyDeleteYour new follower,
Janelle
Thanks for this post....I am exactly the same way (grumpy and grouchy) in the morning. I have been making an effort to spend daily time with God, but usually it happens after everyone is up and off to school/work. I know I need to get up BEFORE the rest of my house, thanks for the reminder!
ReplyDeleteOh girl, you are preachin to the choir! I'm trying to do better at this myself and it's going well. One thing I finally started doing was getting my coffee all set up the night before and on the timer so it was ready and waiting when I got up. Yeah! Love your blog
ReplyDelete