“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.” Psalm 143:8
This year, God has been talking to me about my habits—in particular, my morning habits. He has shown me that in order to have a spirit-filled, productive day where I feel alive, energized, and flowing in my giftings, I must ‘own my mornings.’
He’s showing me that my morning is the most important time of the day because it sets the tone for the day. The start of each new day is like a fresh opportunity to start over. It’s like hitting the reset button (Lam. 3:23).
Armed with this new spiritual truth from my Father. I decided to take charge of my mornings. Here’s my new routine.
1. Jump Out of Bed
Thankfully, I’ve always been a morning person, but I’ve never fully maximized this gift of waking up early. Prior to this year, I would wake up and often lay in bed thinking, half-awake, half-asleep. I would want to get out of bed but it felt too warm and comfy so I would linger there for as long as I could. Then at the last minute, I would rush to squeeze in a quick prayer, spend some time checking emails or Facebook and leave the house feeling somewhat disjointed and frazzled.
This year, as soon as I wake up (after giving thanks for the day), I jump out of bed! Why jump out? Because if I linger in bed, I can quickly talk myself out of waking up and come up with all kinds of reasons why I should stay in bed. So, I decided not to ask myself what I’m thinking or how I’m feeling.
2. Drink Some Water
Once I jump out of bed, I immediately go downstairs and drink a glass of lemon water. Drinking water is a way of turning on all your body systems. To me, it’s like flipping the ‘on’ switch in my body. It fires up my metabolism, my brain, and my digestive system. The lemon gives me a much-needed dose of vitamin C, revs up my metabolism, and it’s reported to decrease inflammation and joint pain.
3. Faith Before Facebook
Then I head back upstairs to spend some time in prayer and reflection. If I’m not studying one of the WLGW devotionals, then my go-to is ‘First15‘. After I read, I then journal my thoughts; write out what I believe the Holy Spirit is telling me, and then I pray for those who the Lord has laid on my heart. I always pray for my family, and I pray for all the women in the WLGW program. Prior to this routine, my journaling was hit and miss. I would always pray but sometimes it was a rushed 2-minute prayer, and sometimes I would start praying and end up on Facebook. Now my time is focused. I don’t allow any distractions to steal my prayer time. If an important thought comes into my head during m prayer time, I’ll write it down and return back to the thought once my prayer time is over. I’ve set a hard rule. No Facebook before prayer. I want God to direct my day, not what the latest Facebook challenge is.
4. Plan My Day
The next thing I do consistently is to plan out my day. I record on my calendar what I will be eating during lunch and dinner. I schedule out all my appointments and I allocate a specific amount of time for each task. I schedule my workouts and my leisure time. I’m a big believer in the quip, ‘proper planning prevents poor performance’. I’ve learned to never plan my schedule before prayer time because it can easily become a wish list that I’m asking God to bless instead of the other way around. I want God to give me my marching orders for the day. I want to make sure He is always in the driver’s seat.
5. Get Some Fresh Air
Lastly, I go outside and get some fresh air. This ain’t easy because it was -20 degrees here in Toronto this week (that’s 6 degrees Fahrenheit for my American friends). Like drinking water, your body also needs to move. The fresh air clears out the cobwebs so to speak, and kicks your body into high gear. We spend much of our days cooped up inside, so fresh air especially first thing in the morning, even if it’s only for a few minutes is good for your body, soul, and spirit. It’s also a good time to talk to God while most of the world is still asleep.
I encourage you to develop your own morning routine. Begin to own your mornings too and you see how your body comes alive. Your body craves routines and this is one routine that it will definitely thank you for. Click To Tweet My routine takes about 70 minutes, which includes my walk to the fitness center for my workout.
You probably have a routine right now. Can you fine-tune it? The key is consistency.
Maybe you like to sit quietly with a cup of coffee or maybe to like to listen to some music.
Whatever it is, see it as your ‘tithe’ to God. Give him the best part of your day and the reward will be tenfold.
I would love to hear what your morning routine is like. Please share below what special routines you enjoy in the mornings.
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