Becoming a Morning Person Pt. 2

I've been working on waking up to the tune of 5am.
My goal is to consistently wake up at 4 am without the help of an alarm.
I want my body to naturally be ready to wake up at 4 am. So this involves a few things:

1. I need to go to bed earlier.
2. Laying in bed for a few more minutes is a major no-no.

So my experience has been a little tragic recently because even though I am successfully getting up, I am exhausted. I've been getting into bed by 11 pm which is not toooo bad but I will stay up answering emails, pinning on Pinterest and watching YouTube videos later than 11pm. Shame on me, I know.

I'll wake up at 5am but within a few hours of being at work, my eyes are rolling around in the back of my head and I literally STRUGGLE to keep my eyelids open. It's crazy. I had this issue a couple years ago and I purchased a couple bottles of 5 hour energy to drink as needed. It helped but I don't want to do that this go-round.

Suggested Solution:
Take those things that keep you up late unneccesarily (tv, emails, social media, shopping, etc.) to a designated time slot in the early morning.

I love Pinterest and if I know I have a designated time slot for it in the morning, it will encourage me to go to bed and anticipate waking up to get my creative caffeine for the day. When it's time to get out of bed, GET OUT OF BED. Designate a spot in your house where you can get to work and make a bee line for it. If you don't have a spouse or child still in the bed when you get up, make the bed. When the bed is made, it'll be less tempting to get in it.

Just remember that the work you put in today may not pay off immediately tomorrow but you're investing in yourself. To see a return on investment, you may have to put in some work. It's worth it though. Take it all one day at a time. Before you know it, 4 am will be your best friend!

You can do it! Stay tuned for more updates & lessons I learn in becoming an early riser!
Thanks for reading!
God bless you!

- dani

Becoming A Morning Person Pt. 1

"Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy and wise." 

My mother used to recite this popular quote by Benjamin Franklin when my sisters and I were little. We used to like staying up late to watch television and she would always use this saying to remind us that staying up late was never in our best interest. 

Speaking of my mother, one of the most beautiful traits my mother possessed was the ability to gently lead by example. My mom was born in Grenada, W.I. and naturally loved the heat. The laundry room was the warmest place in the entire house and so she loved going in there to study. She even had her own special couch in the room so she could be comfortable. Mom would do her morning devotion and then she would study/do homework (she was a teacher and was also in a Master's program at GW). She would do this routine every morning at 5 am. As a result, she was able to be successful in juggling her class load, achieving straight As all while managing a home, career, children and a husband. Even though she's not here anymore, my respect and admiration for her continues to grow daily. 

In Exodus, we read about Moses and his challenging journey with the Children of Israel through the wilderness. At one point, Moses communed with God and received the Ten Commandments (Exodus 31:18). However, when Moses came down from Mt. Sinai, he found the Children of Israel worshipping a golden calf. He was so furious that he threw the two Ten Commandment-inscribed tablets on the ground, breaking them to pieces. So since the Ten Commandments are pretty important and they needed them, God felt it was important to give Moses another copy. God is so particular when it comes to His instructions so it's important to listen when He speaks. So, In Exodus 34, God gives instruction to Moses on what to do next so that He can get the tablets. Verse 2 opens up with God telling Moses to, "be ready in the morning".  

Now, I know that God can meet with us anytime and anywhere. However, for some reason, I believe there is something special about getting into the habit of early rising. Many people who have achieved levels of success that they never dreamed possible have noted that early rising helped them get there. Upon further reading in Exodus 34, God instructs Moses to come to Mt. Sinai early and alone. There's something significant about communing with God without any people to distract you. Early mornings are the time when the world is the most quiet. A lot of people are still asleep and the business of the day hasn't begun quite yet. Even the Proverbs 31 woman gets up in verse 15, "while it is still dark." So she's up before the sun! Some of my most intimate moments with Christ have happened when I've risen early in the morning. Over the next few weeks, I'm going to share some great benefits to early rising and how to become an early riser. So, if you're like me and want to see some major growth in your life this year, stay tuned! 

God bless you!
-dani