*AFTER I conquer the warmth and comfort of my bed, of course. Temptation to turn off the alarm and 'give myself a gift of sleeping in' is a daily battle.
So I've been attempting to revamp my mornings and get up long enough before my kids that I can get my heart pumping with some exercise, get into the Bible, and get my day planned out before the noise that starts as soon as they get up. Last week I fell off the wagon and slept in every single morning. It started with missing my alarm 'cause I hadn't turned it up enough. Tuesday I turned it off without hardly even waking up, and only knew it when I woke up to my kids' voices hours later. Wednesday it occurred to me after my alarm woke me that I had a 5K coming up in three days and I decided to 'gift myself' with sleeping in for the rest of the week. Wow, written out like that that looks like a lot of lame excuses.
So I was thinking that if I listed the pluses of getting myself out of bed, I may be motivating myself even more. And possibly give myself a little accountability because other people (all, what, 6 of you? :D) will know that I am trying to change this habit.
1. Peace and Quiet.
With 3 little girls who have inherited my hubby's and my ability and desire to talk, it's not quiet for long (if at all) after they get up. Besides the pets charging around wrestling with each other, it's pretty quiet when I get up.
2. Seeing the Sunrise
There are quite a few houses around here but that doesn't stop the sun from gorgeously staining whatever clouds are in the sky. Right now the sunrise happens during my 'planning for the day' time, when I feel like I can drop what I'm doing and drink in the fact that God gave me a gorgeous sky-painting to look at.
3. Getting my Heart Pumping.
Exercise gets my body warmed up and moving. I can move on to my bible reading without worrying about coffee until later. Plus it feels good to burn off most, if not all, of breakfast before I even eat it.
4. Learning Discipline.
Eventually, this will become a habit. The blogs I'm reading that are encouraging me in this promise that eventually, it becomes something you look forward to! Seems odd to look forward to getting up early. But I do feel better on the days I've gotten enough sleep and get my self in gear before the kids invade. ;)
5. Time for Myself
Every mama learns quickly that if they don't get some time to recharge, get in touch with God, the days go horribly. I've been reminded of this many times. Eventually, the battery gets to critical levels, like my laptop did this morning, and I need to plug in. Get some time in the quiet, when I can try to hear God and get my patience built up for the day.
This is my current goal. I've been learning about myself and my relationship with God and my kids. I've learned certain things are critical for keeping my patience intact, like enough sleep. Getting up early also requires going to bed early, thus enough sleep. I hope to post more about how this goes.
Today I missed my iPod alarm but my back up on my phone did wake me up enough to notice I had slept in. It took 20 minutes of arguing with myself to get up. Of course, I had only had 5 1/2 hours sleep. Tonight, earlier to bed!
No comments:
Post a Comment