Friday, February 11, 2011
Caffeinated Randomness - I'm Up
It's 6 am and I'm up.
Really. Can you imagine this night owl up? I love the nightlife. My tv shows are on. My kids go to bed early (while not last night), so I can spend time with my husband in the evenings. I can have friends over for a home party and still be able to clean up before bed. I can get at the computer with little obstacles. I love the nightlife.
Mornings are hard. I'm woken abruptly by either my 21 mos old crying or playing his crib piano or by the annoying alarm on my Blackberry, which actually starts off nice and them explodes in some sound that should be at a nuclear power plant during a meltdown, not my home. Then I have to wait for the coffee to brew (if I remembered to get it ready) or I microwave yesterday's dregs and drink that (Yes, desperation calls for desperate measures). Then I go down and get the 21 mos old settled, read some blogs or my current novel, maybe exercise or just veg in front of the extra tv. During the week I get start getting Nic ready for school by 7:30 am and feed everyone breakfast. On the weekends, sometimes I can actually sneak some extra sleep in before I get up and make everyone pancakes.
This is how my mornings used to be until January 28, 2011 when I read this. I had already heard about Maximize your Mornings a few months before and in fact downloaded the book and perused it, but determined that it wasn't for me. I even wrote about how I wasn't one of those people who get early. Then the baby started getting up between 5:30 am and 6 am. I decided it was a God thing. I decided to start using the morning time for prayer time. It felt good to have that time alone with God. Honesty though, this time still wasn't a regular time set out. It was not intentional. There were still many days that I wanted to do nothing, to sit in my morning mental wasteland.
In January, when I started reading through my Bible in the 90 Day Challenge, I started to use that morning time to get my reading done. I still struggled with time though. Sometimes I got it done, more often or not I didn't. Michelle's posts and Kat's book made me realize that I needed to intentionally set time out for God. To actually get up and spend time in worship and prayer with Him. Now that we're in the Psalms in the 90 Day challenge, I'm praying through them during that time. I even have time to work through my David study I'm doing with the Babes.
This time has become precious to me (I know it's only been two weeks). Is it hard for this night owl to get up? YES! I'm not going to lie. It's still a struggle and I still suffer from the morning mental wasteland, but I'm willing to sacrifice this time to spend time with God, which really shouldn't be a sacrifice anyway. He has been teaching me many things during this time. This week I even realized that I need to be more scheduled in how I spend this time so that I'm less distracted by things that beep at me (Oh, how I love my new blackberry). I know some people would advocate that maybe I should go to bed early to make it easier to get up, but really, I'm still a night owl and there's always coffee!
PS: Do you ever realize how when you kids are up late the night before that they are up earlier the next day?
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- Michelle
- Alberta, Canada
- I'm a 39 year old (oh yeah I'm telling you my age) Stay at Home mom. A former Bad Girl now reformed sinner, I'm married to my Y2K guy and raising 3 great children from God. Proudly Canadian, however, missing the West Coast, I currently live in the prairies watching the farmers fields produce as I learn how God produces the fruits in me.
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11 comments:
Yes!! If my girls go to bed late they are up early. I don't get it!!
I am loving getting up early in the mornings to get my breakfast, devotions and computer time before my girls wake up! But then, I also realized that I need to be in bed earlier so I can actually get up!
Happy day to yoU!
i'm impressed that you've been able to use your mornings so wisely. i'm a morning person and can get absolutely nothing done at night. and i see no change on teh horizon!
You speaketh my language, girlfriend. I'm a HUGE night owl and don't enjoy getting up early but I did for a while and it was great. You are right - it takes major discipline but I need to do it.
Thanks for sharing the book - I'm going to check it out! This girl needs morning help!
I struggle with this, too. The days when I get up with a plan and am disciplined, I feel great. Why I continue down the other path remains a mystery.
Hope your coffee was extra good today :)
Erin
I'm not too thrilled when my morning is hijacked! I get up with the mind to sit and dig into the Word...then I hear at least one of the kids. I know what's coming next.."can you do this. can you do that".
I usually don't mind because I know that I can get the time in at some point during the day.
LOL, I'm not a morning person. My best devotions are in the wee hours of the night.
Happy Friday! And thanks for hosting.
It's been two and a half years since I have started using my mornings this way and I wouldn't change it for anything! You are going to be so blessed by this time, Michelle! (and yes, coffee definitely makes it easier! :P)
Yes..I do remember the kids getting up earlier if they were to bed later...to funny! Gosh do I know that mental wasteland. I am now an early riser...and I still suffer from the wasteland:)
I am memorizing Galations. I got a little moleskin book like Ann V. suggests and carrying it with me in my purse so while waiting in school pickup line I can read it. Sometimes my mornings can be really long and good..others quick. This way I just take it with me. OK
it is my first day so I will keep you posted...lol:)
xo
I enjoy getting up before everyone else in the house in normal circumstances. This year, however, we all wake up together around 7 am because I am staying up until midnight to work. I hope things will go back to normal when our lives return to normal. We'll see.
My kids are 9 & 10 and they STILL get up earlier after being up late! And I'm kinda obsessive about adequate sleep time, so it stresses me.
I am not a morning person in the sense that I'm cranky when I wake up. However, I'm cranky whether I get up at 5am or noon, so I tend to try and get up before everyone else. I like the feeling of being up when the rest of the world still sleeps...Yet I'm strangely struggling with it lately!
I'm impressed that you were able to do this . . . and inspired!
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