This morning the phone rang at 4:30am
It brought my day to a sudden beginning!!
It was good that I went to bed an hour earlier last night!!
I was so awake that I stayed up.
Seriously, I need an alarm that is as loud and demanding as a phone!!
It was -4* this morning and our bedroom is rather icy early in the morning.
It is out of my comfort zone to get out of the covers.
Even the thought of warming up with some exercises is NOT to my liking!!
I'd rather stay under the covers!!
My day goes a lot easier when I get up!!
BUT
I need to readjust some bad habits!!
It was -4* this morning and our bedroom is rather icy early in the morning.
It is out of my comfort zone to get out of the covers.
Even the thought of warming up with some exercises is NOT to my liking!!
I'd rather stay under the covers!!
My day goes a lot easier when I get up!!
BUT
I need to readjust some bad habits!!
- We CAN go to bed even just a little earlier.
- We will be better rested, more patient,
- and ready for whatever God has in store for us,
- We will definitely have an edge on our day and be more productive,
- even having some personal time alone with God before the day gets going!!
- Set an earlier bedtime. I chose one hour earlier as best as possible.
- Obey my alarm and GET UP!!
- Start reading the Word right away.
- Plan day
- Make bed
- Exercise
- Shower
- Write
My preference is to do my morning routine in this order because exercising first prepares me to spend a more productive (awake) time with God:
- Make bed
- Exercise
- Shower
- Read the Word
- Plan my day
- Write
You see how flexible I am?? I changed up my morning routine to match the season.
Many, many of you ladies have small children and toddlers. You might say that works for you because your children are grown!! My children were little not so long ago. Life is a string of fleeting moments flying by!!
Remember, I know what it is like!!
I had seven children 11 and under. Five were six and under. I had some things that worked for me and you can find what works for you and your family. What I am sharing is food for thought.
It looked like I had everything together but that wasn't the case. Some circumstances were beyond.
I also got overwhelmed, tired, and although I had the chores all organized and homeschooling running with a hectic smoothness, what helped me on a daily basis to deal at least a little better was this:
I got up earlier than my kids!!
- Made my bed
- Showered
- I read the Word
- Got the laundry started/folded (we did 4+ loads a day...whoever heard that 'A load a day keep chaos away??!!)
- Cooked breakfast (you read that right...when the kids were little there was no such as cold cereal)
I didn't exercise in the morning.
I exercised with the children or took them on a walk.
I would often exercise at night. My husband liked that.
When your children are younger you might have to be creative with your time. You might have to switch up how you do things one week and how you do things the next.
Most of all: Getting up earlier than your children to prepare yourself physically, mentally, and spiritually for your day is the most important habit you can develop.
Don't forget to linkup your favorite posts:
~Judith~
Hello Judith,
ReplyDeleteI read your profile and I have enjoyed the beautiful song. In Christ alone.
I like this blog about the things you planned and did during the day.
To get up earlier is one of the best decisions I made 10 years ago.
(sorry if my english is not so good)
I have mutch more time now for everything I have to do and I have my time with Christ alone in the morning.
I call it my quit time.
I am glad that you have enjoyed my blog. Welcome, Dieneke! Your English is really very good and easy to read. At least you can speak more than one language! I never mastered more than one even though I grew up overseas!!
DeleteJudith...you are so right! Getting up early to start my day before the house wakes up does me good. It also puts me in a joy-filled place to have accomplished much so early. The rest of my day is better going...even if rough spots come along. Thank you for the encouragement good friend. God bless.
ReplyDeleteWow, that was EARLY! I hope that everything was o.k. with the phone call!
ReplyDeleteWhen the kids were little I used to get up and be exercising by 6 a.m. Let me tell you, it was hard to walk on the treadmill that early. But I just had trouble fitting exercise into my day otherwise.
Eventually my schedule got better (as the kids got older) and I was able to exercise later in the day. Now I still try to exercise before noon but I don't have to get up that early.
For the last two weeks (since I've been sick) I've been sleeping in. Hubby too. Seems like our bodies just needed a lot more sleep than usual. It's going to be hard to have to wake up to an alarm clock again, lol!
My men get out the door in the middle of the night...what can I say? I will sometimes get a phone call at an unearthly time of the day!!
DeleteI love a routine too. My problem is that I'm so slow to wake up that my mind often drifts off if I try to do sustained reading like Bible study. I'm still trying to work out a routine that works for me that I can fit around my 7:15-4:45 work hours. (I'm being whiney I know!)
ReplyDeleteMy mind drifts off too and it is much harder to wake up than it used to be, hmmm!! Auntie Em be easy on yourself and pick a time that works for you. My husband leaves the house at 4am...and although I can't get up THAT early, I try to get up around 5am but it is often 6 or 6:30 or ummm...!! I usually exercise first...that works best for me. It has literally been so extremely cold in our bedroom that I can't even stand the thought of exercising until it warms up a bit...so I read first instead. Whatever works best is what works.
ReplyDeleteI am working on the getting up early part too. Hopefully starting this week! The baby could be an excuse but he is 12 weeks old now and sleeps well, so I need to get back in the habit of early rising to read my Bible and exercise. Getting up at the same time as the other 2, or later than them makes for a chaotic hour or two trying to make breakfast and get my husband off to work on time.
ReplyDeleteOh and do I remember those stressful mornings when the children were young and my husband needed to be off to work! It always seemed like everything had to be done at the same time. Getting up earlier helps but I don't think I made my husband's lunch the night before like I do know.
Deletewhew! You just helped me to make the decision to go to bed earlier tonight! Gotta start somewhere, and tonight it is!! I can awaken very easily, but to go to bed is terrible since I have so much energy at night :( Well, with God all things are possible! Thanks for the help, dear friend!
ReplyDelete