I am definitely a morning person! 🙂  Some days I bounce out of bed at 5am, make the bed, put in a load of laundry, clean out the dishwasher, do my devotional and pray, make my husband’s lunch and see him off to work, and work out before the kids get up.  Other days I get up at 5am, make my husband’s lunch and see him off to work, get sidetracked checking email and FaceBook and suddenly the kids are up and I have not prayed, done my devotional, worked out, done dishes, made the bed, blah, blah blah.  Then the rest of the day is a struggle!  I guess being a morning person can make things harder because if my day gets off to a bad start, I’ve got nowhere to go but down.  For sure I have too many things on the to-do list for the allotted time.  Another problem is a lack of discipline on my part.  In any case, I know that I have to be sure to do a few things every day, no matter what:

• Start my day with my mind on the Lord, asking Him to arrange my schedule.  In their hearts humans plan their course, but the LORD establishes their steps (Prov 16:9).  
• Spend time in the Word, first thing, which gets my mind and heart in the right place.  This is usually when I feel like the LORD teaches me and speaks wisdom and comfort and reproof into my life.  All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete,equipped for every good work (2 Tim 3:16-17).
• Pray in the quiet of the still-asleep house…this is something Jesus did too. And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, He departed and went out to a desolate place, and there He prayed. (Mark 1:35).
• Make the bed!  I cannot function if my bed is a mess – and besides, once you make the bed the whole room looks tidy.  I know I can just breathe better when the bed is made 🙂
• Work out!  This a relatively new addition to my routine (since October)…I plan to write about it in a few weeks.

Having fellowship with the LORD and being diligent about my time in the early morning sets a great tone for the rest of my day and keeps my attitude on the right track.  Having the right attitude allows me to approach my day in a way that is pleasing to the LORD:  Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. In your relationships with one another, have the same mindset as Christ Jesus (Phil 2:3-5).

Wish I could be diligent and disciplined with my time every morning!  It helped me to make a detailed list of all the things I wished I could get done.  At first the list was discouraging to me – there was no way I could get it all done.  But once I realized that I would never get it all done, I learned how to use the list well.  I have my strict priorities and all the rest is a guide to help me to be more efficient – the more time I have, the more stuff I do, and I try not to sweat the rest.  How about you?  Are you a morning person?  What is a must-do for you?  What areas need improvement?

JustAgirl…just like you!