Dream mornings and goal setting..

 A part of the Hello Mornings challenge is setting goals for your mornings. Once you know the why (which is the most important part) you must figure out the what. What are your goals? What would your ideal morning look like? So as your thinking about that let me share mine.

(Imagine with me for a second.. sun rising, birds singing, oh and I look beautiful as I awake from a deep nights sleep, not a hair gone astray nor a piece of drool falls from my face)

Got it? Ok...

My ideal morning includes me waking up well rested. My workout clothes are already laid out so I jump into those first thing. I tell Scott good morning and look in on the kids. Aww so quiet!! A fresh pot of coffee awaits me. Thank God for coffee pots easily set the night before. I get our coffee ready just in time for Scott to meet me at the table. We dont say much, because sitting across from each other is enough. However we take a moment to read the bible together and share a laugh about something from the day before. Who needs a date night when you got date mornings. Then Scott prepares to leave for the day, but not before I give him a kiss and speak a prayer over him.

After he leaves I head to the recliner, blanket awaiting. The sun is not up yet, but from where Im sitting I will be able to catch the first glance of it. I open my bible. Ever faithful, God is awaiting me. Good Morning!! Thankfully I dont have to rush. He has time to speak to me and I have time to actually listen. Lotus awakes to find me in God's word while Killian's teenage self needs a little more sleep.

 I  then head to the table. Get the school stuff ready for the day. Laying it out with prayer. Lord give me patience. While Lo gets ready herself.

 By now the sun is peaking from over the horizon and the dogs are starting to rouse. So I feed them, love on them and get treated like I am the best thing in the world (Ok I have food bowls in my hand). Once their fed its time to get this heart a pumping. I turn the music on and head out the door. How nice its perfect weather!! (Remember this is my dream morning) 

 When I get back I feed the rest of the pets. Yes this is nice. Chickens are hilarious first thing in the morning & the sound of our rooster reminds me of Haiti which always makes me smile. Plus by now the cats are rubbing up against my legs begging to be petted. Killian has woke and walks out to help me. This has been typical on the mornings I wake up and go for a walk.

We walk in and work on breakfast together. Or as I like to call it Home Economics. After breakfast together at the table, I head to the shower. Aww I'm ready for the day. Kids are up & dressed, doing their chores and by the time we come back to the table the school day is ready to begin. And weve actually enjoyed each other in the process.

So that's my dream morning and if I actually get up its not such a dream. It just means I need to wake up with Scott (deep breath) at 5am. Woo.

How do I get there? Slow and steady. Right now that means waking up at 6:30. At that time I do miss waking up with Scott, but I get in time with God, a walk (when I'm not utterly terrified of the temps) and feeding the pets. However the planning gets pushed to after all that which means the school day starts much later then it needs to. So to account for that I am aiming to wake up at 6:00 for the next week.

Small goal, but great, big step towards making my dream morning a reality.

Now to the good part...

What does your dream morning look like and what small goal will you set to get there?





 

Whats my why?..

Tip #1 in the Hello Mornings Challenge says... "Figure out your why?". As in why do you want to get up early, what is your motivation? For me it comes down to a few sweet people who I dearly love and a very tender God that loves me more than I deserve.

My why for waking early is this...

I want to get up early for the man I've chosen to share my life with. Promised to love, honor and cherish. I want to kiss him goodbye before he leaves for work. Knowing that a work day that starts at 6am and ends at 5pm is a long time and he needs to know that I appreciate him for it. I want to start his day with a hot cup of coffee. Sit across from him while he reads the morning news. Read scripture together. And above all I want to pray over him so that he knows I got his back and God does too.

I want to wake up early for my 2 not so little ones. I want to speak peace over their day by being at peace myself. Ease the teenage grumpiness with joy that comes from meeting with God. Be an example that says God is a priority. I want to wake them ready to take on the homeschooling day. Have time to go slow, be present, enjoy them instead of rushing them. Be prepared so that there's space in the day to just be with them and not always playing catch up.


I want to wake early for my Savior. Our Savior. I want to meet with him first thing. Before I set my eyes on anyone else I want my eyes/heart focused on him. I want to spend time in his presense. At his feet. In his word. In his love. Because I know what life looks like without him, been there, done that and its not good.

All in all I know that the people in my life (God included) deserve my best and my best starts with him. So when Im begging for just 15 more minutes of sleep, when the bed is way too warm or late nights threaten to lead me astray may my heart be reminded of these things...

A God who is worthy, a husband who I love and children that hold my heart.

Hello Mornings Challenge...

As of a few days ago I am officially an accountability captain for the Hello Mornings Challenge which is a laugh to be honest because...

1. I'm basically lazy. I mean I seriously love sleep and seriously hate exercise. Not that I haven't been known to hike a 11mile trail, which my family fondly calls the hell trail, but in general your more than likely going to find me on the couch. 
2. I procrastinate like no ones business. Like my homeschooled kids perhaps might not graduate and our electricity has been turned off because I put off paying the bill. Not today but sometime in the not so distant past.
3. I'm anxious and grumpy. That's the funny one because as the blog name suggests its about all of the joy. Well joy is hard earned for me, because my tendency is to walk around with a scowl on my face. Its not exaggerating to say I constantly have to remind myself to be nicer to my kids and husband.

You know all the things that should disqualify me from encouraging others to be diligent in rising early, spending time with God, exercising and planning. But on the other hand what qualifies us to rise to a challenge are our weakness'. I mean we say, Rise to a Challenge, which implies we weren't there already. We had to rise up, get moving and do the things that didn't come naturally to us. And if it came naturally; well then it wouldn't be a challenge.

So I'm rising to the challenge and asking you to join me, but first take a look right here and find out what it's all about. Go ahead, do it!!

Now that you know a little more let me share a little of what its not...

Its not about rules or being perfect. If you work out at night then keep doing that, but make sure to put that plan into action early in the day. Remember that whole grace thing, well we will be practicing that. Its more about making steps forward that fit your life.

Its not about waking before dawn. Its about getting a start on the day instead of waking to chaos. Perhaps you work til 3 in the morning and your day doesn't start til noon. That's fine. Its still your morning and it still holds its on challenges that can be helped by rising a little earlier, spending time with God, getting some exercise and planning the day ahead.

There you have it. What it is and what it is not, but if your like me you probably have more questions which I will answer below. Like how to join my group, what you need to get started, Etc. Etc. Hopefully you will choose to rise to the challenge with me. I know I need a little encouragement myself.

Much love.

When does the challenge start? The challenge starts Jan 28th and runs throughout the remainder of winter, but register early to make sure your in on all the action.

How do I sign up for the challenge? To sign up for the challenge and join my Hello Mornings Challenge group go here and follow the directions listed.

What else do I need to do?

1. Sign up for the Hello Mornings email by going here. This will give you access to all the blog updates, ongoing tips and encouragement. Plus you will get great resources to help you along the way.
2. Join your fellow morning risers on Twitter (see info below).
3. Look at the great resources Hello Morning's has to offer.
4. Check your twitter account everyday for more info and updates

How do I join the action on twitter?

1. Sign up for your own account if you don't have one already and then follow me by clicking here. If that doesn't work you can discover me by typing in @allofthejoy. 
2. Once your signed up and following me introduce yourself and start sharing your experiences, but make sure to add the hashtag #awakeosleeper to the tweet so it goes out to all the other participants. This is our groups personal hashtag for the Hello Mornings Challenge. You can also add #hellomornings to be a part of whole community.

Do I need to be on twitter to be a part of the group? Twitter is where we will offer encouragement along the way and perhaps post pics of our awesome mornings, but you don't have to join twitter if you don't want to. I will also be posting info to facebook, on here and by email. But a twitter account will put you right in the middle of the action and let you connect with others in our group by using the hashtag #awakeosleeper. If you need more info on twitter let me know. 

Will I need anything? Hello Mornings is amazing in that it provides all the resources  you will need including bible studies if you choose to use them. Basically all you need is a willing heart, a bible and perhaps lots of coffee. 

What is an accountability captain? That's a fancy way of saying I will keep you updated about everything's that going on and will encourage you to stick with us on this journey. It also means I'm heading up a little group of ladies that share a common goal.