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Make Your Morning Hum...

Not with a morning groan, but make your morning hum like a well oiled machine! It CAN be done!

For a quick background...I was always a night owl. My parents were also and we didn't go to bed until after Johnny Carson's monologue. (Does that give my age??) After I married, still the late nights/late mornings were the best. It just didn't make sense to me why people chose to get up early. When our first son came along, I was blessed to be a stay at home mom. His nighttime routine began at 9:00 PM - with bath, feeding etc., just so he wouldn't wake up too early in the morning! Then school started....it was mandatory to get up early, but I didn't actually enjoy it, just went through the motions and got it done. After several years of waking up early for school, again we were blessed with a new little one and I could again stay at home. The difference was, when this little angel was awake, I could not get anything done! The older boys would catch the school bus and I would have a limited amount of time to do the necessities while the baby slept. Early mornings became my friend and a transformation took place!

Now, I love early mornings! It is my favorite time of the day. My energy level is up and my mood is good during the early morning hours....and I love to watch the sunrise!

I recently read some tips on how to make mornings go more smoothly. We have all heard the tip on getting as much done the night before. Very true. It helps greatly to have clothes picked out, backpacks ready, errands by the door. An interesting twist was to set a few morning goals. What are the most important things that need to be done in the morning? This should not be an exhaustive list (unless you have a lot of time to devote), but in our case, we have two hours between wake up and walk out the door for the day, so we must choose the most pressing. Here is a sample of most morning goals at our home:

Wake up - have coffee (!) and read the Bible - spend some quiet time soaking up God's Word. This sets the tone for my heart and attitude for the day.
Exercise - A fifteen minute routine to help keep in shape. I use light dumbbells and work one body area each day.
These things are done first because they are the easiest to push aside once the day begins, but they are the most beneficial - spiritually and physically.
Tidy up - I am a neat freak, so dishes must be washed, bed made, things picked up. If needed, sometimes a load of clothes can be thrown in the washer.
Prepare for dinner - Either lay meat out to defrost, do any preparations that can be done early etc. At least have a plan. This helps things run so much more smoothly than coming in late afternoon to the "what's for dinner" call and having no idea what to do.

These are the things that help our home run more smoothly. For us the morning sets the tone for the day. I much prefer calm and peaceful to chaotic and harried.

My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; in the morning I will direct it to You and I will look up. Psalms 5:3

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Comments

  1. Simply Heart And HomeApril 7, 2008 at 6:36 PM

    Excellent guidelines to make a home run smoothly. I am an early morning person. I cherish those quiet moments.

    Gina

    ReplyDelete

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