The Perfect Christmas Treat

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If you were going to make a Christmas cookie, you would need to be sure to have just the right ingredients. We’re not talking about a warm, gooey chocolate chip cookie or even peanut butter blossoms, gingerbread men, and snickerdoodles. I love all of those. My favorite though are sugar cookies with frosting on top that crumbles with each bite you take. Whether it’s a cookie shaped like a Christmas tree, a candy cane, a snowflake, a star, or a snowman, I love them all.

The Shop

In the late 80’s and early 90’s, my dad owned his own auto-repair shop. The highlight of the year was the epic spread he put out at Christmas time for his customers. My Uncle made the best hot roast beef, and my Grandma Manney made small tea sandwiches. There was a holiday cheese-ball, and a local bakery provided the center piece—a tray of assorted sugar cookies. I was in holiday heaven as a kid.

The best sugar cookies are often the easiest ones to make. Sugar cookie recipes abound online. You can find a recipe with a simple Google search online. You’ll be inundated with close to 500,000,000 articles in .65 seconds of searching “sugar cookie recipe.” Here’s one to try:

Christmas Cookie Recipe from Sugar Spun Run

You’ll need:

1 cup unsalted butter softened to room temperature

1 cup sugar

1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1 large egg

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 teaspoon baking powder

3/4 teaspoon salt

And, an assortment of Christmas cookie cutters.

Mix that all together and voila you have the next best thing to sliced bread. Just give me a container of Betty Crocker frosting, and I’ll see you next Christmas. (For baking instructions search online “Sugar Spun Run- Easy Sugar Cookie Recipe”)

Ingredients to Save the World

If you were going to save the world, what ingredients would you need? A king? An army? An angel? What about a teenage girl and a blue-collar carpenter? Throw in a star, a stable, some shepherds, a few wise men, oh, and some angels…lots and lots of angels, and now you have the makings of a story worth telling down through the ages. How does this sound for the start of that recipe?

“But when the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship.”

Galatians 4:4-5

One Solitary Life

To fully understand the power of Emmanuel sent to save us. Consider the powerful words of James Allen Francis poem “One Solitary Life”.

He was born in an obscure village,

The child of a peasant woman.

He grew up in still another village,

Where he worked in a carpenter shop

Until he was thirty.

Then for three years

He was an itinerant preacher.

He never wrote a book.

He never held an office.

He never had a family or owned a house.

He didn’t go to college.

He never visited a big city.

He never traveled two hundred miles

From the place where he was born.

He did none of the things

One usually associates with greatness.

He had no credentials but himself.

He was only thirty-three

When the tide of public opinion turned against him.

His friends ran away.

He was turned over to his enemies.

And went through the mockery of a trial.

He was nailed to a cross

Between two thieves.

While he was dying,

His executioners gambled for his clothing,

The only property he had on Earth.

When he was dead,

He was laid in a borrowed grave

Through the pity of a friend.

Twenty centuries have come and gone,

And today he is the central figure

Of the human race,

And the leader of mankind’s progress.

All the armies that ever marched,

All the navies that ever sailed,

All the parliament that ever sat,

All the kings that ever reigned,

Put together have not affected

The life of man on Earth

As much as that

One Solitary Life.

God’s Working

It may be hard to imagine, but this one solitary life was raised by a teenage mom and a step-dad. Sometimes we underestimate the power of what God did in bringing together the lives of each of those characters involved in the Christmas story.

The circumstances, experiences, and people God is using in your life are all the necessary ingredients to bring about his purpose in our lives. God is working for His glory and your good.

That same Jesus is still with us today. He promised He would never leave us or forsake us. He’s still living out Emmanuel today. How does that give you renewed hope this Christmas season?

*This has been an excerpt from Recapture Christmas: Unwrap the Mystery and Wonder of the Manger (a 30-Day Devotional). If you enjoyed it, check out the devotional on Amazon.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post God’s Gifts at Christmas.

100 Blessings

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With Thanksgiving next week, this is a great time to stop and consider all our blessings. Thanksgiving is such a fun time. But with all the baking, cooking, spending time with family, football, parades, and more, we can simply run out of time to be thankful. I don’t want Thanksgiving to pass without a chance to just spend a few extra minutes thanking God and remembering all my blessings.

100 Blessings Challenge

Each year, I challenge myself to do something extra in regards to being thankful. Last year, I went through the alphabet and wrote down one thing that I was thankful for for each letter. This is a great way to stretch yourself and spend some extra time just being reminded of God’s goodness. This year, I chose to go with 100 blessings. I took the time to write down 100 things I’m thankful for. Neither of these ideas take long. It just takes a few minutes and some planning to set the time aside.

It’s so important to focus on the good and to take opportunities to remind ourselves of God’s goodness and faithfulness. Otherwise, we tend to focus on the negative, on all the bad things going on in our lives. When we do that, the negativity just continues to grow and spill over. Instead, we can use this time of year as a time to flip the script, to force ourselves to see God’s good hand of blessing all over our lives.

Evidence of God’s Goodness

Acts 14 reminds us that God may let us go our own way, but he never lets us forget his goodness to us.

In the past he permitted all the nations to go their own ways, but he never left them without evidence of himself and his goodness. For instance, he sends you rain and good crops and gives you food and joyful hearts.

Acts 14:16,17 NLT

We may go our own way for a while, but God won’t ever let us forget His goodness to us. He sends us reminders of Himself and his goodness; we just have to look for them. And what better time than at Thanksgiving to look for those reminders.

More Encouragement

For more on the topic of Thanksgiving, check out my post. Thanksgiving Prompts for Each Day Next Week or check out Ann Voskamp’s book, One Thousand Gifts.

Choose to be a Leftovers Person

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Do you love leftovers? I love leftovers. It’s my favorite night of the week. Why? Because I don’t have to actually cook anything. Everything is ready to go; all you have to do is warm it up. And there are usually several choices, so you can sort of mix and match and create your own special masterpiece. I know some people don’t like leftovers, but for our family, they’re a built-in part of our week.

Being willing to eat leftovers is similar to being willing to wear used clothes, shop at discount stores, and buy non-name brand food. There are no rewards for it; it just usually makes things a little easier…and cheaper. It’s about being willing to be content and even find joy in things that aren’t necessarily shiny or new.

Grace, Our Neighbor’s Dog

It’s sort of similar to our neighbor’s dog. We’ve been walking Grace, while her owner has been in the hospital. We take her on a walk every morning and every evening, and every single time she is so excited to go for a walk. It never gets old to her. Every time a leaf skitters across the sidewalk, she pounces on it. Every time a squirrel runs across a yard, she tries to chase it. She has unbridled joy at the tiniest things, and it makes it fun to take her out.

Choosing to eat leftovers is about being willing to be content and even find joy in the mundane. Not every day is a celebration; not every meal is a three-course experience. Some nights are simply just a leftover night. Yet, we can still choose to find the joy. We can be thankful for what we have and be willing to make things work.

David’s Example

David reminds us that at each and every stage of his life, he worked to find the good things God did and share those things with others. David knew what it was like to live a life in triumphs and tragedies; but he also knew how to live in the mundane. He knew what it was like to watch sheep, to practice an instrument, to be a soldier, to spend years on the run, to marry and have children. Through it all, he looked for the good, and he shared that good with others.

O God, you have taught me from my earliest childhood,
    and I constantly tell others about the wonderful things you do.Now that I am old and gray,
    do not abandon me, O God.
Let me proclaim your power to this new generation,
    your mighty miracles to all who come after me.

Psalm 71:18

Try Some Leftovers This Week

So if you’re not a leftovers person, try it. Keep the leftovers from the meals you make this week and then pick a night to put them out. Try something new. Come up with something amazing like they do on those Food Network shows where they have to use leftovers to create something new. Or, you know, just throw the container of leftover chicken in the microwave. When you do, remember that it’s about making the best out of what you have. It’s about finding joy in the mundane, everyday life. That’s where you find the happiness and joy you’re searching for.

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out Emily Freeman’s Simply Tuesday or check out my post, Finding the Good Happening in Front of Our Eyes.

Just Love Today

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It’s been a nasty week. I sort of hold my breath every time I go on social media this week. I’ve seen so much nastiness; it breaks my heart. There’s so much angry and dare I say hate circling. The sad thing is that this isn’t anything new. This happens every four years…every election season. Matt and I have been saying for weeks that we can’t wait for election season to be done.

Election Season

Every election season, we forget that our fellow citizens are not our enemies. We forget that those who vote differently are not our enemies. You know who our actual enemy is? Satan. You know who’s having a great week? Satan. Because he’s dividing people, stirring up hate, projecting fear, and overall making a mess of things…which is what he does.

We have to remember that even in an election year, the rules don’t change. It’s not suddenly okay to hate or to tear one another down. It’s not okay to attack people whether outright or online. I’m pretty sure Jesus didn’t command us to love each other all the time, except in an election year.

Our Command to Love

What cancels hate? Love. What brings peace? Love.

This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.

John 15:12 NLT

This is my command: Love each other.

John 15:17 NLT

As Jesus spent his last days with his disciples, he used the opportunity to remind them again:

Dear children, I will be with you only a little longer. And as I told the Jewish leaders, you will search for me, but you can’t come where I am going.So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”

John 13:33-35

Our Reminder to Love

This week’s reminder is simple: just love today. You can’t change people’s minds. You don’t need to argue political stances. Find somebody that needs your love today and give it to them freely, no strings attached.

Remember, things are at a fever pitch right now. They will calm down. People will forget eventually about this election as they’ve forgotten other ones in the past. What they won’t forget is how somebody we treated them.

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post, Love is Still the Answer. One of my favorite books on the topic of loving people is Bob Goff’s Love Does.

Getting Outside Yourself and Your Problems

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Sometimes we get so caught up in our own world, with our own problems, that we forget about other people and what they’re going through. Worse, sometimes we think we have it the hardest. That is, until we run into somebody that has a harder go of it than us.

Our Neighbor

We talked to one of our neighbors this week. She’s had such a tough go of it. She has skin cancer and has had more surgeries done on her face than anybody should have to go through. Because of that, she doesn’t like to leave the house. And yet this week, she came outside for a few minutes to talk to Matt and I.

She told us that she has several more surgeries to go. My heart hurt for her. Nobody should have to go through that. Cancer is such a terrible thing. Her courage to stand there and talk to us and to keep fighting made me reconsider my own stamina. Our conversation reminded me that I have nothing to complain about.

Overcoming Apathy

We went home and spent the next few days getting some things together for her. So on the day of her next surgery, she came home to a gift bag of goodies, a pumpkin, and a meal. It wasn’t a whole lot, but it was something.

Getting outside of ourselves is such a wonderful way to overcome apathy. It helps give us perspective and makes us thankful for our own problems and trials. How do you get outside of yourself, especially when you’re going through a hard time yourself?

1. Choose joy today.

No matter what we’re going through, we can choose to still be joyful because joy isn’t dependent on our circumstances.

2. Choose to be thankful.

Always remember that somebody has it worse than you do. Matt and I always say that we’re thankful for the trials we have because we know it could be so much worse.

3. Do something for somebody going through a difficult time.

Sometimes, the sheer needs of people are overwhelming. It’s almost debilitating to know who to help. Matt says this, “Do for one what you wish you could do for all.” Do something for that one neighbor who’s going through a hard time. Help out that friend who’s struggling. You can’t help everybody, but you can be God’s light to one person today.

4. Don’t judge.

Talking to our neighbor reminded me that you can never judge. You never know what somebody is going through. So maybe just give somebody grace.

5. Get out in nature.

Sometimes, just getting out in nature helps remind us how small we are and how big and good God is. It helps us to realign our hearts and spirits.

These are a just a few ways to get outside of ourselves and gain perspective, especially if you’re going through a hard time yourself. Don’t forget that God loves you, sees you, and knows exactly what you’re going through today.

More Encouragement

For more encouragement, check out my post, Making It Through the Storms of Life. Or check out Kay Warren’s book, Choose Joy: Because Happiness Isn’t Enough.

Never Give Up on Your Dreams

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What dreams do you have? What gets you so excited that you could talk for hours about it? What has God placed on your heart to do and accomplish?

Your Dreams

So many of us have dreams–dreams I believe God has put there. And yet, how many of those dreams fail to come to fruition? I believe there is one reason why those dreams don’t come to pass. Faith. More specifically, the lack thereof.

We lack the faith to see past the obstacles in our path that keep us from accomplishing that dream. It’s exactly like the spies in the Old Testament.

The Report

The Israelites have left Egypt and are on the verge of entering Canaan, the land God promised them. Moses sends twelve spies to check out the land over a forty-day period. The spies bring back a grape vine with grapes so large it takes two men to carry it. Then they give their report of what they discovered in the land.

We entered the land you sent us to explore, and it is indeed a bountiful country—a land flowing with milk and honey. Here is the kind of fruit it produces.

Numbers 13:27 NLT

They should have just stopped there. It was all good news. The land is prosperous and fruitful; it was going to be an amazing place to live. God had already promised it to them, but they couldn’t look past what was, to see what could be.

But the people living there are powerful, and their towns are large and fortified. We even saw giants there, the descendants of Anak.

Numbers 27:28 NLT

Their Punishment

Because of this report, God takes away the promised land from them. He tells them that they will all die in the wilderness and only their children will get to enter the Promised Land after forty years of wandering in the desert. Wow! That’s a pretty harsh punishment. Why? Why would God take it away from them? Because of giving a bad report?

No. It was because of their lack of faith. They didn’t have the faith to believe that God would give them the promised land, giants or not. Faith is a really big deal to God. Just look at how many times Jesus healed people because of “their faith.” Others missed out because they didn’t have faith. Hebrews reminds us that if we don’t have faith, we cannot please God.

And it is impossible to please God without faith.

Hebrews 11:6 NLT

Eyes of Faith

Reading this story makes me stop and think. What am I missing out on because I can’t see past the obstacles in my path? We have to learn to look with “eyes of faith.” We have to train ourselves to look past what is and see what could be.

What dream has God given you? What do you think he is calling you to do, but you haven’t gone after it because all you see are the giants? This is your encouragement to grow in your faith and to see past the obstacles to what could be and go after those dreams God has given you.

More Encouragement

For more like this, check out my post 6 Ways to Build Your Faith Today or check out Matt’s book, Momentum: The Simple Roadmap to Clarify Your Calling.

6 Ways to Build Your Faith Today

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For my birthday, Matt got me a book I’ve been wanting for a little while–A Long Obedience in the Same Direction: Discipleship in an Instant Society by Eugene Peterson. Eugene Peterson is the author of The Message version of the Bible; he was a pastor and a theologian that passed away in 2018. I’ve been reading through it just a few pages at time. His books aren’t something you read quickly; there’s a lot there to take in. You have to kind of work through it. But I’m enjoying it; I like the change-up from what I’ve been reading recently.

The thing I love and respect the most about Eugene Peterson was the humble life he lived. Here’s a man that translated the entire Bible into common language because he wanted his church congregation to love the Bible and understand it. He had a deep understanding of Greek and Hebrew and used it to give us the Bible in a way we could easily understand and apply. There are so many good things about this book I’m reading, but one of the things that has stuck with me is his understanding of faith and the faith journey.

When Hard Times Come

I had a conversation with a friend recently, and they said verbatim, “I thought the Christian life would be easier than this.” So many of us love God and want to grow in our faith. Yet, as soon as hard times come, we’re ready to jump ship. We get mad at God, and we blame him for everything wrong in our lives. We quit going to church; we quit believing in his goodness and faithfulness.

And yet, the Bible warns us time and time again that this life will be difficult. Eugene Peterson puts it this way.

No literature is more realistic and honest in facing the harsh facts of life than the Bible. At no time is there the faintest suggestion that the life of faith exempt us from difficulties…On every page of the Bible there is recognition that faith encounters troubles.

More Than We Can Handle

And yet, God reminds us that he won’t give us anything we can’t handle. He doesn’t promise the lack of problems; He simply promises his presence.

No test or temptation that comes your way is beyond the course of what others have had to face. All you need to remember is that God will never let you down; he’ll never let you be pushed past your limit; he’ll always be there to help you come through it.

I Corinthians 10:13 MSG

The Only Mistake We Can Make

Eugene Peterson goes on to say that “the only mistake we can make when trials come is to assume that God’s interest in us waxes and wanes in response to our spiritual temperature.” It’s that thing we do when things aren’t going well for us. We believe God doesn’t love us or is being hard on us because he’s angry with us. Or worse, we believe he doesn’t truly care about us.

But the fact of the matter is that this life of faith isn’t a giant what if? It’s not an I hope. From the book I’m reading, he says this about faith.

Faith is the solid, massive, secure experience of God, who keeps all evil from getting inside us, who guards our life, who guards us when we leave and when we return, who guards us now, who guards us always.

How’s Your Faith?

How’s your faith today? On a scale of 1-10, how are you doing?

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

One: I don’t have any faith. Ten: My faith has never been stronger!

It’s funny; I used to think I was a solid ten. And then life hit. Now, even on my best days, I think I may be at a seven or eight. On my worst days, I was down near a two or three. Our numbers may fluctuate, and that’s okay. As long as we stay on this journey and don’t quit, that’s okay. It’s okay to hit a two or three once in a while; just don’t stay there.

6 Ways to Build Your Faith Today

If you’re below a five today on the scale, that’s okay. But don’t stay there. Continue to grow your faith. Pick one of the things from the list below and start there.

Listen to worship music.
Spend time with God every day through a morning time routine.
Get out in nature, even if it’s for just a few minutes.
Spend a few minutes writing down what you’re grateful to God for.
Get plugged in to a good, local church.
Read a Christian inspirational and encouraging book

This life of faith is a daily journey, so choose today to grow your faith. Refuse to be the person you were yesterday.

More Encouragement

For more like this, check out my book, The Hidden Pain: When You Fear God is No Longer Blessing Your Life.

The God Who Sees Me

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“Mommy! Look at me.” You will hear this phrase shouted across just about any playground or park. Between the giggles and the shouts, children are driven by the approval and attention of their parents.

A young couple after a few years of marriage slam doors after angry accusations. In separate spaces and places, they wonder, “Does he … Does she … see me?”

The heartbreak of disappointment leaves us begging God for help. In a moment of desperation, we cry out to God, “Don’t you care? Can you even see me?”

God’s Promise to Abram

Life can be complicated especially when we jump the gun with God.

The infamous story of Abraham, Sarah, and Hagar unfolds like a script from a day-time soap opera. It all started when God promised Abram (before God changed his name to Abraham) that he would be the “father of a great nation.” Even Abram’s name meant “exalted father.” That’s a tough name to have when you don’t have any kids. Imagine the snickers and taunts Abram got. God promised. Abram and Sarai (before God called her Sarah) pined. Birthdays come quick when you enter your sixth and seventh decade of life. Desperate times call for desperate measures.

Sara’s Servant Hagar

Enter stage left: Hagar. Undoubtedly younger than her 75-year-old counterpart, Hagar was Sarah’s personal assistant. Sarah gave up on the hope that she could have kids and schemed up a whopper of an idea. “I’ll just have Hagar sleep with my husband to give us a baby.” It takes surrogacy and in-Vetro to a whole new level. In our culture, we can’t wrap our minds around this desperation of irrationality. For Abraham and Sarah, it was a cultural and financial decision.

Without an heir, Abraham, the wealthy businessman that he was, would pass on his business and all his assets to his right-hand man Eliezar, as was custom. Another option, however, was for Abraham to father a child by the “handmaid” of his wife.

Hagar’s Pregnancy

Hagar got pregnant. As you can imagine, things didn’t go well between Sarah and Hagar. Two women who were presumably friends at one time, now had a falling out. Hagar treated Sarah with contempt and looked down on her. Sarah was scorned and you know what they say, “Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.”

Abraham, like any good husband, simply said, “You’re her boss. You handle the situation however you see fit.” (Genesis 16:6) Sarah made Hagar’s life difficult. It was tough enough that Hagar abandoned her job and went on the run as a single expectant mom. Abandoned by everything she came to know and love, Hagar found herself alone by a well in the wilderness.

God Sees Hagar

In this moment, God sees her in need and sends help. An angel appears and gives direction to Hagar to return back to Abraham and Sarah and to trust God to bless her. Hagar’s response, “Thereafter, Hagar used another name to refer to the Lord, who had spoken to her. She said, “You are the God who sees me.” She also said, “Have I truly seen the One who sees me?” (Genesis 16:13)

God Sees You

Crazy story, right? Hagar did what was acceptable in the culture, but not the wisest decision. Yet God still honors her, blesses her, and sees her. Life isn’t always cut and dry, black and white. It is complex and messy. At the end of the day, life can leave us confused, unloved, and unnoticed. In spite of the situation, God saw her. God sees you. No matter how far you go from God, he still sees you. No matter what you’ve done, El Roi sees you. David knew this when he wrote, “Where can I flee from your presence?” (Psalm 139:7)

Don’t lose sight of your call and purpose because you are in obscurity. Refuse to believe what people say about you. Remember the one who sees you.

God’s Name for Today

El Roi- “The God who sees”

אל ראי

“You are the God who sees me.” -Genesis 16:13

An Excerpt from Our Newest Devotional

This is an excerpt from our newest devotional, God is for You. It’s a thirty-day devotional of the names of God. if you are looking for some encouragement right now, some hope…check out this devotional. I think it will really encourage your heart.

For more like this, check out my post, God is Working on Your Behalf Today.

8 Hacks to Becoming a Morning Person

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I absolutely love mornings–like love, love them. Getting up early, starting my morning time routine, and having a quiet, peaceful morning with God before my day gets going is my favorite part of the day. Add in a beautiful sunrise, and I’m in Heaven.

However, I don’t like getting out of bed. I don’t like not getting enough sleep. I don’t bound out of bed every single morning, ready to start my day. Honestly, I don’t think many people do. Most people, even the ones that get up early, would probably say that they have a hard time getting up in the morning. I think that’s a universal thing.

So how do we become morning people when it’s hard to get out of bed? Here are eight hacks to turn yourself in a morning person, even though you may not technically be a morning person.

1. Take a shower

One of the best things you can do to wake up is to take a shower. Add some shower gel that helps you wake up, and you’ll be awake in no time. Matt got me the set pictured below for my birthday. It’s my favorite for waking up in the morning. I’ve used the lotion and shower gel before, but the shower steamers were new to me. They are amazing! The entire bathroom smells good. The orange ginger scent is so refreshing and revitalizing; it wakes you right up.

2. Light a candle.

Candles are my love language. One of the things that helps me get going in the morning is to come downstairs and light a candle. My favorite places to get candles are TJ Max, Kirklands, and Bath and Body Works.

3. Start a new journal.

A way to refresh your morning is to pick a new journal. We just rolled out our new fall covers for our Faithfully Stepping Journals, and I am loving my new cover. It’s just an added perk to my mornings.

4. Make a cup of coffee.

I make an iced coffee every morning, even in the winter. I’m crazy; I know. But it really helps me to wake up; it also give me something to look forward to. I have coffee that I only drink in the morning. Right now, I’m enjoying Java. By saving it for mornings, I look forward to it even before I go to bed the night before.

5. Put on music.

My husband loves listening to music first thing in the morning. Before he even gets out of bed for the day, he snags his noise-canceling headphones and slips them on. It helps him to wake up and be a ready to start the day.

6. Grab a Blanket.

If you want a great morning time, start collecting warm throw blankets. Bonus if they can change out with the seasons to keep things fresh and fun. Except for the middle of summer when it’s super hot, I pretty much always snag a blanket from the back of the couch for my morning time.

7. Hang up white lights.

This one is a little extra but is one of my favorite things about my morning time. Last year, we strung white lights in the dining room. We left them up because I love coming down in the morning and turning them on. It’s a softer light than the overhead lights, and it just makes my morning time extra special.

8. Go to bed at a good time the night before.

This is so key to being able to get up in the morning. If you truly want to become a morning person, you have to learn how to go to bed at night. It’s a discipline–just like getting up early. It takes time and practice, but it’s so worth it.

These are just some hacks that work for me. I can say confidently that I have never regretted a morning that I got up early, but I have plenty of times I have regretted not getting up early.

Start Small

Start small. Get up five minutes earlier; then ten minutes. Then work it up from there. Start implementing some of my morning time hacks; try some of your own. See if you can’t fake yourself into becoming a morning person!

What are your morning hacks that help you get out of bed?

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out our free guide on how to have a morning time routine.

Don’t Push People Away

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Sometimes we forget that God uses people in our lives–both the good and the bad. If we don’t let people in our lives to help shape us, we will miss out on who God wants us to be.

Joseph’s Story

Joseph’s story from the Old Testament is pretty familiar. He had some really bad things happen to him. His brothers sold him into slavery. His boss’s wife falsely accused him of trying to force her, and his boss threw him in prison for it. While in prison, he interprets the butler’s dream, who promises to put in a good word with Pharaoh for him. But the butler forgets about Joseph…for two long years.

There are a lot of things that people did to him that would be impossible to forgive. And yet, each of those people played an intricate role in shaping Joseph’s life. Taking it a step further, each of those people helped put him in the position of second in command of all of Egypt.

God Worked in Every Detail

Think about this: If Joseph’s brothers wouldn’t have sold him, he wouldn’t have been in Egypt where Potiphar bought him. If Potiphar hadn’t thrown him in prison, he wouldn’t have met the butler and baker and interpreted their dreams. If the butler hadn’t forgotten about Joseph and left him there for two years, he probably wouldn’t have been able to track Joseph down when Pharaoh needed an interpretation of his dream. God was working behind the scenes in every detail of Jospeh’s life, so that when the time was right, Joseph was able to step into place and save an entire nation from starvation.

Allowing God to Work

We get so frustrated with people when they don’t think like us or do what we want them to do. And when people hurt us? Forget it! They’re dead to us. Yet, God uses all kinds of people to shape us and direct us and challenge us so that ultimately we become who he wants us to be. if we’re not careful though, we can circumvent that process. We can sidestep what God is trying to do, how he’s trying to work when we push people out of our lives.

We can also take it a step further and do this in our kids’ lives. Instead of stepping in all the time, we have to let others help shape our kids and correct them. It’s all part of growing into who God wants them to be.

If we want to be who God’s created us to be and step into the path and plan he has for our lives, we have to allow people to influence us along the way. It may mean putting up with a little more hurt and a little more frustration; but it can also add more love, fulfillment, and contentment in our lives as God uses those people to help shape us into who he wants us to be.

Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out my post, God Uses Trials to Develop Iron in our Souls. A book to read to know when to allow people to help shape us and when to step away is Good Boundaries and Goodbyes by Lisa TerKeurst.