Every morning I wake up at 6:30. No one else is up. I grab my phone, sometimes my computer and head straight for my closet. It’s not pretty. Seriously. Not. Pretty. But it’s a decent sized space and houses a little canvas box full of books, a Bible, journals and a mechanical pencil or two (and sometimes some marbles and a few stuffed animals, too).
Then I usually update Instagram or Facebook or Twitter with the verse I’m reading, or even a picture of what I just wrote in my journal. So other people can copy me? To show off how holy I am? Nope. It’s because there are hundreds of other women getting up early in the morning to do the same thing. We’re keeping each other accountable through these social media platforms.
It’s not always a time of crying and digging up treasure from God’s Word. Sometimes it’s just a simple cup of cold water to start my day. Other times it’s just the act of being awake before my kids.
If I had my way, I’d wake up when I wake up. I’d lay in the bed until I felt ready to roll out of the bed. I’d stumble into the kitchen and slowly make breakfast, sit on the couch with a book and computer until my eyes were awake enough to get into the shower. But I’m pretty sure I won’t get to do that until my kids are teenagers. Or maybe till they move out.
And when I try to do that now, with my 3 and 6 year old, I am the one that ends up having a bad attitude–even before I get out of bed. Because the kids have been up for more than an hour running around my room, making messes in the living room, asking me to get up to make breakfast, whining and complaining while they play unsupervised in the early morning.
When I first started getting up in the morning, I didn’t even spend time with my Bible. I’d head out the door and walk around my neighborhood listening to an audiobook. Then I’d jump in the shower and usually be dressed before my kids woke up. And it felt like a miracle! I was awake enough to speak with love and self-control to them. I sometimes had breakfast cooking before they were all the way awake. I wasn’t aggravated because their noses were pressed to the shower while I was inside. I had an hour of complete silence while I did something I wanted to do!
Waking up early makes me a better mom. I get alone time, I get personal time and I get God-time. It’s one of the best choices I’ve made as an adult. Waking up FOR my kids and not TO them.
If any of this seems like something you need–your household needs, I encourage you to download Inspired to Action’s free ebook, Maximize Your Mornings. It will lead you through a step-by-step plan to waking up–and give you encouragement to WANT to do it. It might change your life, it did for me.
If you wake up early before your kids (especially if it’s not your natural bent) will you leave a comment below and tell us how it benefits you? If you’re a part of #hellomornings, chime in, too! I’d love to see all your faces bright and early this fall!
Linked to The Better Mom and Women Living Well
alarm clock photo source: beth19; all other photos via my instagram
***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***
