Mornings at our house start at about 5 am for me, 5:15 am for Sarah and 6 am for Steve.
As soon as Steve gets up, he pours coffee into his travel mug and leaves for the church to pray. (He and another guy meet there every weekday morning for about an hour.)
I read my Bible, pray, eat, exercise, shower, and dress, tending toward streamlined efficiency in the early morning hours.
Sarah however, is just the opposite. Her leisurely morning routine starts with being awakened by her favorite music and then lounging in bed a while to listen to her current audio book. She then has devotions before moving into her slow-paced eating and dressing process. She could get up a whole lot later than she does and still get to school on time, but she really loves to meander through her morning and not feel rushed.
By 7:45, Steve is finishing breakfast and Sarah and I are headed out the door for the School Run. Before we leave however, one of the best moments of the morning occurs: Steve puts his arm around Sarah and prays for her and the day ahead of her. (I usually stand on the other side of Sarah for the prayer but on this particular morning, I was the resident non-praying picture taker.)
(Sarah is wearing a hat in this picture because today at school, everyone was supposed to dress up as someone they want to be. She chose movie director and wore a black, flowy outfit with big jewelry,in addition to the hat. Of course, she also still wants to be a writer, but that’s a little harder role to dress for.)
It’s truly a blessing to spend peaceful mornings with people I love; it’s also a special joy to know that Sarah leaves for her day at school with words of love ringing in her ears and words of prayer ringing in her heart.
What about you? Are you a morning or a night person? Are you leisurely in the morning or do you move at lightening speed? What would a perfect morning look like for if you didn’t have any obligations?
definitely a morning person. Up between 4-5 (sometimes earlier…ugh)
coffee, suduko and a crossword puzzle to waken The Brain, and then I have
my devotional time and SS homework.
Mrs Pam, wow, that IS early! But at least we morning people get a jump on our day, which is a good thing!
I am a night person. The cat I live with however is a morning cat. This strains our relationship. Thank God I love the Bisa or I’d have to.. well, grumble at her. I don’t tho because I love her so.
Your post on being a Pastor’s wife. Being a parishioner I imagine it must be hard. When deciding what church to go to when I go to a new place I look at the pastor / priest (I am Episcopalian). I just moved back to Eugene, Oregon and am going to call a the priest of the church I attended on Sunday to chat with him. If he’s as good in person as his sermons are and as he came across on Sunday that’s where I’ll start attending. I was very blessed in Logan, UT to have a Pastor / Teacher / Friend / Mentor in Pr. Paul Heins of First Presby of Logan. He was the one who showed me that I really can be a pacifist who is in favor of LGBT rights, is anti-gun, anti-death penalty and pro socialized healthcare and yet be a Christian too. I had always felt a call to Christianity, but because of my values didn’t think I could fit comfortably. I will always be grateful that God put Paul in my life. He has been there through many trials and when I left to go join the Episcopal Church (my dad was Episcopalian and I felt a call to join the Episcys after he died) and then came back because the priest and I didn’t get along well he welcomed me back with open arms. When I moved to Jordan for 4 months and then came back to the USA Paul was there when I stopped into Logan on my way here. I’ve told him that, until I find a job and settle he’ll continue to be my pastor and he was fine with that. So, my point. If even 1/10 of your congregation values y’all as much as I value Paul Heins then you have a great responsibility. I suspect y’all do your work with the same level of grace mixed with being human that Paul Heins does, which is a gift to them. I’m grateful to God that there are folks like y’all and Pr. Paul doing that important work because there are a lot of people like me who need good people to turn too.
Okay. That was rambling, sorry. I hope you got my point because now I have tears streaming because I miss attending Paul’s services and Bible studies and need to have a good cry.
God bless and be with you and Steve.
Brooke, it’s great to hear such a positive, affirming story about your experience with your pastor; he sounds like a special man and who has greatly impacted your life. (BTW, I loved your abbreviation of “Episcys!) 🙂
I hope that your conversation with the new priest/pastor goes well and that you find a wonderful church home there where you are. Blessings!
I’m such a night person… my ideal morning would scarcely exist, because I’d not have gone to bed until around four a.m. I’d get up at eleven, have some breakfast, and skim the morning news at my leisure.
Regrettably, however, having a job is not optional for me! Therefore, my mornings are always rushed, because I routinely get up too late no matter what procedures I put into place in an attempt to break the cycle. I throw my life together as speedily as possible and dash out the door without breakfast. Sigh… I keep telling myself that when I grow up I’ll be more responsible, but I suspect I’ve already grown up, and certain aspects of responsibility will simply always elude me.
On a side-note — I love that you always respond to readers’ comments, but please don’t feel compelled to go back and read/answer everything from the three-week barrage I just tossed at you! This was partially because I had things to say, but a lot of it was also an exercise in productivity.
Kristina, if you take time to comment, I take time to respond! 🙂
Kristina, if I ever stayed up till 4 am, it would take me a MONTH to recover! Isn’t it funny how different people are wired differently and morning people like me love to go to bed at 9 pm and night people like you love to stay up till all hours?
Yes, I guess we’ll have to stop saying “when I grow up” since we’re sort of, kind of already at that point. Although I don’t always feel like it. 🙂
I am rushed, only having enough time to do what I must and get out the door. I always have good intentions, but when that alarms starts buzzing, they fly out the window!
I love that Steve prays over Sarah. I leave before Taylor heads out to school, but I’m in constant prayer. Today another child brought several diabetic lancets to school and was tricking people into high fiving or shaking and pricking them with it. Very scary place, a public school:( i also noticed embrace the grace isn’t working properly.
Kim, why in the world would a child bring lancets to school and poke people with them? Some things in this world just don’t make sense, do they? I know Taylor appreciates your prayers for him throughout the day; he is blessed!
Thanks for sharing about your family’s morning routine. 🙂 I especially LOVE the part where Steve prays for Sarah and her day ahead! Awwwww… priceless!!!! HUGS
Bea, what a cute Snoopy icon you have! Congrats for being tech savvy and getting installed! 🙂
When I was younger, I avoided mornings as often as possible. After turning 35 or so, I became more of a morning person. Living in south Georgia, we rarely have much of a winter and I sit on our front porch or back deck and watch the sunrise over the blueberry field next to our house. Nothing connects me to my Heavenly Father quite like watching Him work his magic just for me.
Lisa, “a sunrise over a blueberry field” sounds like the absolute perfect way to make a morning person out of anyone. Enjoy!
Becky,
After reading your wonderful posts, I usually read EMBRACE THE GRACE. Unfortunately, it seems to have disappeared and has been replaced with an advertisement. Thought you might know what has happened.
Judy
Judy, I know you’re as happy as I am that Embrace The Grace is back on line. Woo-hoo!
when i need to get up i sleep as long as possible and when the alarm goes off i get moving, my oldest is like me but my youngest is slow moving and needs reminders.
Becky, yep, that alarm going off is a good signal to get things in high gear, isn’t it?
When my kids were little and the job was to get them out of bed, fed and out the door to school, there was no choice but to hit the floor running. However, now I wake up earlier than necessary and sometimes watch the news, do a few light chores or just leisurely get ready. THEN, more times than not, I have spent to much leisurely time and am a few minutes late for work. I must work this out correctly.
My best time in the morning, if I had no obligations and the geography was in perfect alignment with my soul, would be to take a stroll on the beach and watch God’s perfect show of sun, sea and land in the early hours of the day. (sigh, maybe some day)
Mary,
Well, the next time I stroll by the ocean at sunrise, I will think of you! Speaking of which, I need to actually do that again soon; it’s been awhile. And with a perfectly good ocean nearby, it’s going to waste!
I really want to be a morning person, but it has not happened yet. However, I am not a night owl either, I guess I’m kinda in between! When our daughter was in school, those morning prayers meant a lot to all of us. Great memories 🙂
Anonymous,
Yes, prayer is a great way to start a school morning. Glad you have those memories!
I am sort of a non rushed person. I wake up at least one hour before I have to get out the door-regardless of the day. I spend the first 30 minutes in front of the computer which to me is my “coffee”. Then it is time to get dressed, walk the dog and finish getting things together for work. I then have to start waking my daughter up-who is not a morning person. I head out the door about 6:10 on the weekdays. On Saturdays, daughter and I don’t leave for Weight Watchers til 6:30, so I get to sleep in, while she doesn’t because normally she can sleep as late as 7….
Nicole,
Wow, 6:10 am is EARLY to be leaving the house for the day! And then to get up early again on Saturday for WW? My hat is off to you!
Well, I get up at 10:30. Usually I hear Sarah chirping/singing in her bed, waiting for me to get her up and the cat is meowing in the kitchen for her breakfast. Sarah and I are leisurely, even at this late morning hour. I get her changed and dressed. We eat breakfast around 11:30. And then we go from there. Or not. Sarah often needs a rest in bed at 12:30, if we have not gone out in the car for errands. Four days a week I go to work from 3-11 pm. Sarah has a sitter. I generally get to bed at 1:30 am. Sarah goes to bed at 8:30 pm and sleeps all night.
Our schedule rarely varies as Sarah has definite needs. I am so thankful she is not an early riser, since I work the late shift 🙂
Lesley,
What a lovely thing to be awakened by your daughter’s singing. And I’m grateful with you and for you that Sarah is not an early bird since you are someone who definitely needs those extra hours of morning sleep with your late work schedule. Between Sarah and the cat meowing for breakfast, it sounds like your morning hours are pretty well spoken for!
It depends on what time I have to be at work. If it is an early shift, I don’t get up until about an hour before I leave. That gives me time to get showered, dressed, and fix lunch, If it is a later shift, I take my time.
Kristi,
You’re pretty speedy if you can shower, dress and fix lunch in less than an hour. And speedy is good if it means you can get a little extra sleep!
I LOVE this post. I use to be a night owl…but over the years of working I’ve learned to be a morning person. With that said, i still often stay up until midnight..and get up around 5:30am. Ha!
We have a non-rushed morning routine. I’m big on getting my clothes decided the night before, as well as our lunches, and breakfast pretty much planned out.
We both (hubby and I) get up…while I get ready he gets the bed made…he’s super picky about how it looks…making sure all the pillows are in their place. lol Then we switch and he moves into the bathroom while I get dressed.
I then make us a sit down breakfast jsut about everyday of the week. Somedays it’s a full course, somedays it’s simply just oatmeal…but we make it part of our day to sit down and enjoy breakfast together…praying….and talking about what our day will hold.
We usually leave the house between 7:15-7:45am depending upon our schedule.
I LOVE a non-rushed, slower pace morning with my guy!!
Kim,
Isn’t it nice to have a bed-making husband? 🙂
I’m not sure if I could ever get into the swing of cooking for Steve and I every morning; I have my oatmeal about 6 am and he has his breakfast (eggs, or oatmeal, or cereal) about 7:30. It’s nice you and Tim can sit down together and hang out for awhile before the busyness of the day descends!