I love mornings!

NOT! If you know me very well at all, you know that I'm not a morning person. Pre-children Jason and I used to sleep in as late as possible on Saturday mornings... often missing the farmers market (which ended at 11a!) We still can't believe how much we loved our sleep. I honestly have no idea how I got up at 5am and drove to Peoria everyday when I was working.
In this stage of life it's been really tempting to 'sleep in' as much as possible. Many mornings found me dragged out of bed by my toddler, only because she was in the kitchen "making breakfast". Did this include a) eating cold cocktail wienies on her bedroom floor b) eating cottage cheese out of the container with her hands c) trying to peel raw eggs which she thought were hard boiled or d) all of the above? Yes the answer is D. Stellar parenting... (For the record, I was actually awake during all of these incidences, just not necessarily downstairs quite yet :-) So, our mornings were starting off stressed and rocky and I felt behind before my feet hit the floor.

This spring this sleep-lovin mama started to be really convicted about my morning routine. Through a challenge from an excellent speaker (thanks LB), and numerous articles and websites that happened to cross my path, I knew that God was calling me to get up earlier, sacrifice my precious sleep, and start my day the right way. A quote that really spoke to me was "get up FOR your kids, not TO your kids".
Since I have the will power of a gnat I knew I needed some accountability. I joined Maximize Your Mornings where 800 other mommas were struggling to get out of bed together. We are placed into small online accountability groups where we check in each day and share successes and struggles. Our goal is to get up earlier than our kids and spend quiet time with the Lord, then exercise and plan our day before our day actually begins.

Now, I can't say that I have been successful on all fronts, but it has really changed my routine this summer. For quite a few weeks there I was successfully rising early after Jason left for work and having great quiet time and planning and preparing for my day. It felt so good to have even those extra minutes to have a focused start to my day. It was amazing how much I was able to get done when the house was peaceful and quiet. THEN the third trimester hit and my body said, "I NEED SLEEP". I decided to give up on getting up early, but am still starting my day with devotions and prayer. (Amelia also has to stay in bed reading during this time to avoid any morning culinary disasters). As I think I've said in the past, I've always struggled with having a consistent God time. Now that it's become a routine, I can totally see changes in my life. The days that I have quality quiet time I have more patience and resilience for the things that come my way. I feel balanced. I feel capable. And the words that the Lord lays on my heart in the morning really to speak to me throughout the rest of the day. I'm thankful that I was able to develop this routine of quiet time before the baby comes and life really gets chaotic! Here's to many many more early mornings!