I’m not a morning person. As a teenager, my mom had a terrible time getting me out of bed. Even after Chuck and I got married, there were times when he literally had to pull me out of bed in the mornings. What can I say? I like my comfy bed!
Even now, my night owl self can stay up until the wee hours of the morning to get things done.
There was a point a few years ago though that I realized I was missing out on an opportunity for the most productive time of the day – the morning!
It is no surprise that this realization came right around the time I had settled into a routine with baby #2. Staying up late at night was no longer a viable option when I was getting up multiple times a night to nurse and comfort a hungry baby.
The hour before both kids woke up was often my only distraction-free time during the day.
photo credit: Matthieu Luna via photopin cc
At the same time, I realized in order to stay connected to God and continue to build my relationship with Him, I needed focused time in the Word. In my current situation, that was happening sporadically at best.
That’s when I found Hello Mornings. Kat Lee (most wonderful encourager of moms!) from Inspired to Action published a free e-book called Maximize Your Mornings. After a quick download and review of the book, I realized I’d found something that might work for me.
Sometimes we want something to change in our lives but we don’t take the needed steps to make the change happen.
After years of telling myself I just wasn’t a morning person, I changed my approach and started praying for God to wake me up in the mornings. I joined an accountability group through Hello Mornings, set out my Bible and journal each night, and set my alarm.
You know what happened? God woke me up!
When I purposed in my heart to draw closer to Him, He was faithful and woke me up.
His word is true:
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. James 4:8a
Today, I challenge you to start drawing near to God and make a decision about the time you intentionally set aside for growing your relationship with Him.
If you need a new approach to your mornings, try these steps:
1. Download the FREE Maximize Your Mornings ebook. Kat walks you through the steps of a morning routine in a grace-filled way that will set you up on a path to success.
2. Pray for God to wake you up! See Matthew 7:7.
3. Join a Hello Mornings accountability group. Registration for the next 6-week session starts August 4th and the official start of the session is August 11. Groups check in with each other in a variety of ways – Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. There’s a community for everyone!
If you have questions about my morning routine or Hello Mornings, feel free to email me at contact (at) leeanngtaylor (dot) com.
And for today’s Worship Wednesday, I’ll leave you with the song that God woke me up with THIS morning! And a fun fact…in college, I was in a multi-cultural (but traditionally black-gospel style) gospel choir called Voices of Praise. This was one of the songs we sang on tour.
Today, I pray that God wakes you up! Remember His love never changes and He never fails!
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Hezekiah Walker – Wonderful is Your Name
All of my life I’ve never known You to fail
You remain the same and wonderful is Your name
You woke me up this morning
And You started me on my way
You put food on my table
You brought joy to my day
I’m glad Your love has never changed
And wonderful
And wonderful
And wonderful, wonderful is Your name.
I’ve been doing better at waking up in the mornings but forget quiet time! No matter when I put then to bed, all 3 are awake at 6am (or earlier!) and I can’t bring myself to set an alarm earlier than that. Especially since I’ve probably already been up once to nurse baby girl. My focus lately has just been to be less grumpy when I hear the little feet running around before I really want to be awake! One day we’ll get there I’m sure…but for now it’s 6am for this crew.
Hi sissy! How fun to have you commenting on the blog this morning.
Yes, you have quite the early morning crew on your hands! Just think, maybe they won’t struggle so much with getting up for quiet time as they get older since getting up at 6am is normal for them.
I love what Kat Lee at Inspired to Action does with her kids. She has set up a special quiet time area for her kids with their own comfy seating, blankets, Bible story books, journal, and pens/crayons. When they get up before her, they settle in for their own quiet time. I’ve tried this with Salem a few times and she has enjoyed highlighting in her own little Bible just like mommy. I think it’ll be even better and a great habit to start once she can read.
There are definitely different seasons of what our quiet time looks like. I know mine will look VERY different in a few months when I add my own #3. But it’s the intentionality about growing our relationship with God that’s important, no matter what our schedule looks like.
Love you and can’t wait to spend 7 mornings with you in just a few days!!
I love this, LeeAnn! I have asked God to wake me up in the mornings…and He has! It’s the best time of day for me…but I have fallen off the wagon recently. Thank you for the renewed vision to get back in this routine. I also want to check out that e-book. Would like you to tell me more about the group when we get together…very soon! 😀 Blessings today,
Meredith
Yes, can’t wait to tell you all about it…in person!
Hey Lee Ann,
So simple and awesome.
WHY haven’t I thought of this in all these years? I’m normally very positive….but I have been negative re:early morning quiet time, thinking “this won’t work for me!”
With God all things are possible… So, I’m starting this tonight!
Thx – what a blessing you are to me :)))
I will keep you posted.
Hi Rachel! So glad to see you here on the blog. I love that I have two relatives commenting today.
I was negative about morning quiet time for a very long time too! I just assumed I was a “night owl” and just couldn’t do it.
When I found the Maximize Your Mornings ebook and the HelloMornings accountability group, everything changed. I realized I my mornings didn’t have to look “perfect,” I just needed to get up and make it a priority to grow my relationship with God. Sometimes it’s 5 minutes and sometimes it’s an hour, but either way I try to get up. And when I miss a morning? Well, I just try again the next day. It’s a process of learning to give myself grace too.
Thank you for your kind words. Despite the small amount of time we’ve spent together, I also count you and Harold (and the whole family!) as huge blessings in my life and think about you often! Much love to all!
LeeAnn- this sounds like such a life-changing resource! Thanks so much for sharing it! I love the idea of God waking me up. I loved this!
I love the simplicity of the ebook combined with the grace-filled approach. The Hello Mornings community provides encouragement and accountability that rounds it all out! Hope you are able to join in for a Hello Mornings session in the future. They’re just a six week commitment, so it’s a great way to try it out and see if it works for you.
What a great resource! Thank you for sharing it!
So glad it was helpful Brandi!
This is a great idea! I find I am better at this during the school year and
Ooops! Sorry I hit return before I was finished! I plan a time before school to sit with God but during the summer I have been rather loosey goosey about it. I love the ideas listed above and will look into them more closely. Blessed to have stopped by today!
Thank you Mary! The Hello Mornings challenge has been helpful from the accountability standpoint for me. It’s another one of those great online communities that builds up and supports Christian women. Hope you find it helpful as well!
I am the same way: mornings were not my friend until having kids. Now I crave time to myself in the mornings!
Love this idea and will have to check it out! Thanks for the great suggestion and I am so glad to know there is another mom who’s not naturally a morning person. 🙂 So glad to have you with us at the Saturday Soiree Blog Party!
Thank you so much for featuring the post. I really hope many women were blessed and encouraged by it!