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Setting a routine can be challenging. If you aren’t a morning person, establishing a morning routine can be almost excruciating. So today, I’m going to give you 9 steps to a Godly morning routine. Hopefully, they will help you to ease the stress of your mornings.
Last week, I wrote about 9 ways to make it easier to set a routine. Read that post as well, as it can help you once you know what you want in your morning routine. Yes, I’ll be doing evening routines soon.
Start Your Morning Routine the Night Before
That may sound strange, but if you do this, it will help you to be less stressed in the mornings. This one step will aid in eliminating decisions you have to make when you first get up.
Plan Clothes
Before going to bed, prepare clothes for the next day. Make sure you know what you and the children are wearing, even if you are all staying at home the next day.
Gather Supplies
Put all of your Bible study materials and supplies together. This way you don’t have to look for anything the next morning. Everything is ready for you to read and study.
Think about Food
Decide what you, and the kids, will eat for breakfast. It doesn’t have to be a full spread, but it needs to be food. Coffee doesn’t not equal breakfast. It’s a beverage. Try something like yogurt, granola, and coffee, but don’t mix them all together. Or make toast with cheese or peanut butter on it, and drink some milk. If possible, prepare some of the parts of breakfast beforehand; if not, just know what you are going to eat in the morning.
Set Alarms
Set your alarm and turn up the volume. How many times have you set the alarm and forgotten to make it loud enough that you can hear? Oh! That’s just me? Ok! Just checking!
If I am staying at home, I use my phone alarm, but I do set 2 (or 3) on there. If I have an appointment outside of the house, I use my actual alarm clock which is really loud and across the room. That way I have to get out of bed to hit the snooze button. Yes, I still hit snooze. And, this clock is set about 20 minutes fast, but if I have to get up early, I will never remember that!
Make a List
Make a to-do list for tomorrow. You may not have a lot that you need to get done, but your day could be packed. Make a list and highlight the 2-3 most important (or hardest) things.
Turn Off Electronics
It’s best to turn off your electronics 30-60 minutes before you go to bed. It helps to settle your mind and get you ready to relax.
However, I know I am very guilty of not doing this. I am on my phone until I am about to fall asleep most nights. Even worse, I have the TV on in the bedroom. I play something on Netflix that I’ve seen 100 times so that I can have the talking noise.
I know there are some who say that it’s best to leave your phone in another room. However, I do not. I have mine right by the bed because we have several people in our family with serious medical conditions. I keep my phone on me at all times for that reason.
9 Steps to a Godly Morning Routine
Step 1: Get Up Before Kids
For some people, like me, this is easy. Even when our daughter was little, if I would let her, she would sleep all day. Now, she’s 19, and would still do the same thing.
Other parents have a hard time doing this because they have younger children who still wake up several times a night and early in the morning. Some children just like getting up early, and their parents are rarely up before they are.
If you can get up before your children, it will allow you to have some quiet time in the mornings before the chaos of the day begins. It can help to calm your spirit for the rest of the day ahead.
Step 2: Drink Water
We all know that we are supposed to drink water, lots of water. Do we all do it like we are supposed to? No, but we can try to be better about it.
Get an insulated cup, it doesn’t have to be expensive, and put ice water in it before you go to bed. When you wake up in the mornings, drink that water before you drink anything else.
Step 3: Read and Study Your Bible
Since you gathered all the materials the night before, you really don’t have any good reasons why you shouldn’t do your Bible reading and study now.
Do it before you get on your phone, if at all possible. That way you are spiritually ready to face the day and whatever might be on your phone when you pick it up.
Step 4: Pray
Bible study and prayer go hand-in-hand. You need to pray either before or after you read the Bible. That will give you clarity about what you are reading. It will help you understand the reading better and hear more of what God is saying to you through His word.
Pray for your spouse, your children, your family, and anyone else you have written on your prayer list. Yes, you should keep a prayer list (or journal).
If you are looking for a little guidance in your daily prayers, grab this Praying the Scripture guide I created. It will help you learn how to pray scriptures over your life and your family. It will also guide you through the 5-Finger Prayer. Grab your guide today.
Step 5: Journal
Once you have prayed and read the Bible, you should wait for just a few minutes to hear what God is saying to you. Then, write it down. Write down your thoughts and prayers for the day.
Writing these out helps you to clear your mind and leads to a calmer spirit for the day.
Step 6: Get Moving
Now that you have worked out your mind and spirit with the Word, it’s time to actually move. Do a stretch, walk, or exercise.
Doing this daily will help you to be healthier in your body. We all know this, but we don’t always do anything about it.
Step 7: Get Ready
This is when you can make your bed, take a shower, and get dressed. Don’t forget to brush your hair and teeth, but NOT with the same brush, please. (I’m just being silly!)
Your outfit for the day is already planned out; you did that last night. Now, get dressed and your morning routine is almost completed.
Step 8: Breakfast
Did you think I was going to forget breakfast? Nope! You planned it, and possibly prepped parts of it, last night. Now, you have to eat it.
Again, just a reminder, coffee is NOT breakfast. It is a beverage that you can drink with breakfast if you wish.
You can eat alone, if the family is still sleeping, or you can eat with the family. This may be the part of the day when the family joins in on the routine.
Step 9: Read or Get Started with the To-Do List
If you have time, read 5-10 pages in a book of your choice right now. However, if you don’t have time to do that now, we can put that in your evening routine.
If you are starting your to-do list, look at the 2-3 hardest/most important things that you highlighted. Do those first. They will get your day off to an accomplishment that you can feel good about all day.
Enjoy Your Day
By now, the kids are up. Enjoy the rest of your day taking care of what you have on your to-do list, making sure the kids are cared for, and getting things accomplished.
If you follow these 9 steps to a Godly morning routine, you will be able to have a clearer mind, a calmer spirit, and a better day overall. I can’t and won’t promise that it will be perfect, but I will say that the Lord will be with you every step of the way, even if you miss a step or two in this list.
He will never leave you, and all you have to do is call on Him when your day seems like it is out of control.