Tag Archives: mornings

4 Reasons Why Getting Up Early Transforms Your Day

Early Bird or Night Owl?

Are you an early bird or a night owl? Did you know that most people are neither? Most of us fall somewhere in between. I find that fascinating. There are some people who really enjoy getting up early, and there are some people that love staying up late. But most people are right down the middle—we like to sleep in a little, and we like to go to bed at a normal time.

I didn’t used to be a morning person. I got up early for years in junior high, high school, and then college. So when I got married, I hated having to get up early. But over the years, I have transitioned into a major morning person. That doesn’t mean I like getting out of bed every morning, but it means that I enjoy waking up before the sun comes up and having my morning routine before the rest of the house comes to life.

If I had to point to one thing that helps me to get more done each day, it would be getting up early. That has made the difference in increasing my productivity these past several years. I get soooo much more accomplished when I get up early.

4 Reasons Why Getting Up Early Transforms Your Day:

1. You get a jumpstart on your day. There is something about getting up early that makes me feel so good about jumping into my day.

2. There’s a peace and quiet that you can only experience if you get out of bed before everybody else. For me, the best time to do my morning time routine is in the quiet morning hours when it’s just Matt and I, a candle, and coffee.

3. You accomplish more. There’s something about getting up early that sets you up for success the rest of the day. I always accomplish more in my day when I get up at a good time, compared to the days I sleep in.

4. Early morning hours are like bonus points in your day. Somehow, whatever you accomplish just accumulates into more for the day.

Start Somewhere

If you want to be a morning person but struggle with it, start by getting up just five minutes earlier each day. That’s all you have to do to start. Eventually, add another five minutes and then another. Before you know it, you will be a morning person!

More Encouragement

For more on this topic, check out Hal Elrod’s book, The Morning Miracle.

A New Year! 3 Steps to Take to Have Your Best Year Yet!

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365 New Mornings

It’s a beautiful new year. There’s something about the beauty of a new year. It’s empty and full of so many possibilities. Because my passion is mornings, I see 365 mornings stretched out before me. I see 365 new mornings and new mercies.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV

God’s compassion starts fresh every morning. He gives us a fresh supply of mercy and compassion each morning. That’s the most encouraging thought as we face a brand new year.

Facing this New Year with Confidence

While everybody around us may face this new year with fear, trepidation, and uncertainty, we can step into this year with confidence in a God who has not forsaken us, in a God who gives us a clean slate every day.

Just as we can be sure that the sun will rise every day this year, we can be equally sure that God will walk alongside us every day in this new year.

If you want this year to be better than any other year so far, I believe it begins with three simple steps. If you want to have the best year yet, start with these three steps.

1. Write Down Your Goals and Dreams for this Year

You May Say I'm a Dreamer Journal — My Dream Journal

If you want to accomplish something great, it starts with writing it down. Take the time in these first few days of the new year to write down all the dreams you have for this year and what you want to accomplish.

open journal with the words 2021 goals and dreams written — Inside my Dream Journal before I wrote down my goals for the year

If you don’t write it down, you probably won’t accomplish it. Every year, I take the time to write down what I want to accomplish. Those goals range from books I want to write, projects I want to complete, vacations I want to take, places I want to visit, things I want to do, goals personally, and more.

“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
Tony Robbins

“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”
Brian Tracy

2. Get Up Early

If you want to accomplish great things for God this year, it starts with getting up earlier. When Matt and got really serious about our mornings and got up earlier than we ever had before and started doing it on a consistent basis, our creativity and productivity grew in leaps and bounds.

If you want to find extra time in your day to begin to accomplish your dreams, I believe it can be found in getting up earlier and starting your day with God, then moving on to what He has for you for the day. There’s so many wasted hours waiting to be claimed in the early morning hours.

“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for 40 years, supposed a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”
Philip Doddridge

3. Develop a Morning Time Routine

After you set goals and determine to get up earlier, the third step is to develop a consistent morning time routine. This is the routine you do every morning that sets you up for success for the rest of your day. My morning time routine starts with making a cup of coffee and lighting a candle. Then I begin my time with God. Reading my Bible, journaling, and doing my prayer time. For more details about my morning time routine, read Creating a Morning Time Routine You Love.

Matt and I have created a system we call 30 to THRIVE. It consists of reading your Bible or doing a devotional for 10 minutes, journaling for ten minutes, and reading a book for ten minutes. You can find out more at Manney Resources where you can download a free Morning Time Guide to help you get started on your journey,

Matt and I believe that if you can change your morning, you can grow your faith and change your life, and you do that best by developing a morning time routine.

2021

2021 can be your best year yet! Start with writing down your goals for the year, then figure out how to get up earlier consistently. Lastly, implement a morning time routine and see if that doesn’t make this year your best one yet!

Hello, Mornings!

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My Morning Time Routine

I love mornings! Do I always love getting out of bed? No, but I have never regretted the mornings I get up early. Mornings set the tone for my day. A successful morning for me is any morning I get up early and complete my morning time routine before my kids wake up!

My morning time routine consists of lighting a candle, making a cup of coffee, and getting out my Bible, journal, and a pen. In my journal, I complete the prayer section- gratitude, confession, and requests. Then I spend time reading my Bible and writing down anything that stood out to me or a verse I want to remember for the day. It’s simple but effective. My morning time puts my heart and my mind in the right place for the day. For a more detailed description of my morning time, you can get a free copy of my ebook, Better Mornings, Better Moms by clicking HERE or you can read My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time HERE.

Why Does Journaling Matter?

It’s common knowledge that we remember better when we simply write it down. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember what I ate for lunch an hour ago, let alone something I read this morning! Just spending a few moments writing down something from our morning time will keep it with you throughout the day. I see a huge difference in the days I read my Bible and journal and the days I only read my Bible.

Journaling also helps to develop consistency. I can see how many days I have read my Bible each week. It also helps with consistency in prayer. If I don’t have a list in front of me, my mind often wanders. Having the requests written out in front of me helps me to stay focused.

Another benefit of writing something down is that I can come back to it later on in the week and look back and be encouraged or share it with someone else. My journals are my life-line.

Faithfully Stepping Journal

Matt and I developed a journal years ago that we have printed for ourselves personally and for our church family, but I am so excited to announce that they are finally available for purchase. Matt created three beautiful covers! I love all of them. They will be available on Amazon on Black Friday. Each journal contains six months of journaling pages and uses the system that Matt and I have used in our morning time for several years. If you want to take your relationship with God to the next level, these journals are the answer!

Mornings are Our Reset Button

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My Morning Routine

Over the years, mornings have become my favorite part of my day. The quiet hours before my kids wake up are my most productive hours. After I drag myself out of bed, I go downstairs and light a candle. Next, I make myself a cup of coffee. Right now, it’s decaf pumpkin spice coffee with french vanilla creamer. Then I sit at my table, open my journal, and begin my morning time routine of journaling, praying, and Bible reading. If you would like to know more about my system, check out My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time.

Mornings are My Reset Button

I love the mornings because they are a reset button for my heart. It’s a chance to start over. I can confess and ask forgiveness for the things I did wrong yesterday. The start of a new day washes away the failures and disappointments of yesterday. With a clean heart, I can face the new day.

David’s Love of Mornings

I believe that David loved mornings. He developed a habit of spending time with God in the morning. Why do I think this? David wrote so many verses in the Psalms about spending time with God in the morning.

I love the verse David wrote in Psalm 5.

My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up. Psalm 5:3 (KJV)

Similarily, I love how this verse is paraphrased in the Message.

Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar… (MSG)

Each New Day is a Fresh Start

Each new morning is a chance to come before God and lay out the pieces of my life. It’s a chance to realign myself with what God has for me for the day. When we find ourselves going several days on end without spending time with God in the morning, we get off track. Consequently, we lose focus on what is important and what God wants us to accomplish.

Each new day is a chance to start fresh. It doesn’t matter what happened yesterday. Instead of focusing on the failures and frustrations of yesterday, I can focus on what God has for me to accomplish today. God gives us a new day and a new chance to start over.

Jeremiah reminds us in Lamentations that God’s compassions are new every morning. Each day is a reset button, even on God’s compassion and mercy.

It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness. Lamentations 3:23 (KJV)

A Chance to Start Over

I don’t know what happened yesterday or the day before, but today is your chance to start over. Push the reset button. Start the day right by spending a few minutes in prayer and reading your Bible. Then ask God what He has for you today. Lay out your plans before Him and ask Him to direct you. When we get into the habit of doing this each morning, God can accomplish something great in and through us.