Earlier this month, I came across a post on LaurenConrad.com on “how to make your mornings brighter.” Since I am not a morning person and probably never will be, I read the article and made a mental note to add some of the suggestions to my routine, such as making your bed right away (a habit I have gotten out of doing), washing your face or turning on some music to get you going.
While the article suggests a perfectly fine morning routine, I noticed one glaring absence: there was no scheduled time for being in the Word.
In Humility: True Greatness, C.J. Mahaney offers a different morning routine to brighten your day:
1. Start by “acknowledging your dependence upon God and your need for God.” As soon as my eyes open, my first thought ought to be, “I need You, God. I am dependent on You.” This relates to what Martyn Lloyd Jones says in his book Spiritual Depression (a book that Mahaney quotes and that I just happen to be reading with my church’s Singles group!), “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?” Boy, how I need to speak more truth to myself instead of listening to myself!
2. “Begin your day expressing gratefulness to God.” Don’t start your day grumbling to your Savior but greet Him with gratitude. As I confessed earlier, I am not a morning person, and I have been guilty of grumbling and complaining throughout my morning routine. Instead, I am going to resolve to give thanks at the start of my day.
3. Exercise the spiritual disciplines – prayer, studying the Word, worship – in the morning if possible. When we start our day before God, in His Word, and in prayer, we are declaring and demonstrating our dependence on God and our need for Him. How many times have I started my day without Him, declaring that I don’t need Him? Though I wouldn’t say that out loud or consciously think that, that is what my actions are saying. I have downloaded MacArthur’s Daily Bible on my iPad to help with this discipline.
4. “Seize your commute time to memorize and meditate on Scripture.” Although I don’t have a long commute, I am going to start listening to my Word of Life audio Bible in the car on the way to work.
5. Cast all your cares on the Lord (1 Peter 5:6-7). By humbling ourselves and giving Him our cares, we start the day care free. I am guilty of worrying or being anxious about anything and everything. Mahaney points out that this is because of pride. I am trying to be self-sufficient and in control instead of depending on God and acknowledging my need for Him.
Although the Rise and Shine article I mentioned earlier offers some legitimate solutions to making your mornings brighter and smoother, I think I’d rather follow Mahaney’s routine and use my “morning moments wisely, letting the light of God’s grace shine in to brighten [my] entire day.”
How about you? What is your morning routine like?
For those who are wondering about Indy, he is doing so much better!
I am so, so thankful that he is recovering so well. Thanks for all your thoughts and prayers.
(Quotes and content taken from Humility: True Greatness by C.J. Mahaney, Multnomah Books, 2005; chapter 5, pages 68-77)
Exercising toward Godliness 