Tag Archives: journals

Change Your Morning, Change Your Life

My Morning Time Routine

If there was one thing that has been my anchor over the years, it would be morning time routine. Through all the ups and downs of life, it has been my relationship with God that has helped me to weather the storms. The best way I have found to grow my relationship with God is through my morning time routine.

I really believe that if you learn to change your morning and create a morning time routine of praying, reading your Bible, and journaling, you can change your life. Matt and I are so passionate about it, we write books, journals, and devotionals for Manney Resources. We want to help others find the same hope and encouragement we get from spending time with God each day.

Getting Up Ahead of the Chaos

Mornings are hard. Complicated. Frustrating, Rushed. Frantic. I get it. That’s how our mornings used to be to, until we discovered that if we got up early enough to beat the chaos and spent some quiet time with God ahead of the craziness, it could and has changed our lives.

So every morning, long before the sun begins to rise for the day, you will find Matt and I at our dining room table with a candle lit, a cup of coffee (hot for him, iced for me), and our morning time baskets. Even on the darkest mornings, when I’m tired or discouraged, or feel like giving up, I know that if I can just get to the table and do my morning time routine, my spirit will change and so will my attitude.

30-to-THRIVE

Our morning time routine is so simple, yet it works every single day. Here’s what we do and now what we teach—we call it 30-to-THRIVE.

Spend ten minutes reading your Bible or a devotional.
Write in your journal for ten minutes. This includes writing down your prayer requests and anything you learned from your Bible reading or devotional for the day.
Read a book for ten minutes. I like to choose a Christian inspirational book that will further enhance my morning time experience.

That’s it. In just thirty minutes, you can find the hope and comfort you need and the strength to face your day. Will every day be something amazing, something that inspires you and lifts you up? Probably not. It’s like eating. Every meal you eat won’t be this amazing life-changing experience. In fact, you probably don’t remember what you had for dinner a week ago on Monday night. But that meal got you from where you were then until the next day and made it possible for you to get to today.

Start Today

That’s how your morning time routine is. It will help you to get through to the next day, and that’s what this blog is all about. Faithfully stepping one day at a time. I believe the best way you can do that is through a a morning time routine.

If you don’t have one, start one today. Start small. I have an easy course you can take for free with more details to help you get started, if you’re interested. Click the image below if you’re interested in that course.

Choose to just begin and meet with God every morning and watch how that changes the course of your day.

More Encouragement

If you’d like a free morning time guide, check out Manney Resources where you can get one for free to help you get started today.

Today’s Standing Stones

Standing Stones in the Bible

In Old Testament times, when God wanted His people to remember an event or a place, he would have them erect standing stones. They would bring large stones and stack them into a pillar. This would make a memorial that would commemorate that event or place for generations to come. I just read about this in my morning time this week. After the children of Israel crossed the Jordan, God commanded Joshua to have the people create a memorial.

Then Joshua called the twelve men, whom he had prepared of the children of Israel, out of every tribe a man:
And Joshua said unto them, Pass over before the ark of the Lord your God into the midst of Jordan, and take you up every man of you a stone upon his shoulder, according unto the number of the tribes of the children of Israel:
That this may be a sign among you, that when your children ask their fathers in time to come, saying, What mean ye by these stones?
Then ye shall answer them, That the waters of Jordan were cut off before the ark of the covenant of the Lord; when it passed over Jordan, the waters of Jordan were cut off: and these stones shall be for a memorial unto the children of Israel for ever. Joshua 4:4-7 KJV

Why did God ask the children of Israel several times to stack stones to remember events by? God knew they would forget. He didn’t want them to forget the mighty acts that He did for them. Not only did he want them to remember the event or place, He wanted their children to see the standing stones and ask what they were for. When they did, the parents could tell them what great act God had done there.

Remembering by Writing It Down

Over two thousand years later, God no longer asks us to put up standing stones. Yet, He wants us to remember when He works on our behalf. Here’s the problem, though: we’re forgetful. We quickly forget what God did for us in one season of life. Maybe He comes through in a big way financially for us. Later, we face a similar situation, and we automatically fear that God won’t come through for us. How many times do we fear the same thing over and over again? Yet God comes through every time.

Often, we forget what God has done in the past simply because we don’t write it down. There’s something about writing things down that helps it to stick with us. It’s often been said…

The shortest pencil is longer than the longest memory.

If we want to remember something, we need to write it down. If we want to remember how God worked for us in the past, we must write it down. What’s the best way to do that? Journaling.

Journaling

I am a huge advocate of journaling. That’s why I created the Faithfully Stepping Journal. Every morning, the first thing I do in my journal is to write down what I am thankful for. Every day I have a chance to record what God did for me the day before. Most days it’s not something huge. But the times when God does come through in a big way, I write it down the next morning in my journal.

When I get discouraged, I simply flip through the pages of my journal. It reminds me of all the good God has done for me, whether that be something little or something huge. Whenever I finish a journal, I flip back through it and remind myself once again of all that God did for me during the past six months.

What’s really fun is to find an old journal from several years ago and flip through it. I am reminded of so many blessings. The blessings range from small to huge…the baby finally slept through the night, the kids are feeling better today, a new family joined the church, we received a check in the mail, Malachi got saved yesterday.

Getting into the habit of writing down God’s blessings every day helps so that you don’t miss any, whether they are big or small.

A Pen and a Journal

We no longer have to build standing stones. We simply have to pick up a pen and a journal. When we remember all the ways that God has provided for us and blessed us in the past, it is much easier to trust Him with the future.

Faithfully Stepping Journals

If you’re interested in my Faithfully Stepping Journals, you can snag one HERE. These six-month journals use an easy format to help you grow in your relationship with God using journaling, Bible reading, and prayer time.

Journaling Page — An inside look at the Faithfully Stepping Journal

Hello, Mornings!

My Morning Time Routine

I love mornings! Do I always love getting out of bed? No, but I have never regretted the mornings I get up early. Mornings set the tone for my day. A successful morning for me is any morning I get up early and complete my morning time routine before my kids wake up!

My morning time routine consists of lighting a candle, making a cup of coffee, and getting out my Bible, journal, and a pen. In my journal, I complete the prayer section- gratitude, confession, and requests. Then I spend time reading my Bible and writing down anything that stood out to me or a verse I want to remember for the day. It’s simple but effective. My morning time puts my heart and my mind in the right place for the day. For a more detailed description of my morning time, you can get a free copy of my ebook, Better Mornings, Better Moms by clicking HERE or you can read My Best Tips for an Effective Morning Time HERE.

Why Does Journaling Matter?

It’s common knowledge that we remember better when we simply write it down. I don’t know about you, but I can’t remember what I ate for lunch an hour ago, let alone something I read this morning! Just spending a few moments writing down something from our morning time will keep it with you throughout the day. I see a huge difference in the days I read my Bible and journal and the days I only read my Bible.

Journaling also helps to develop consistency. I can see how many days I have read my Bible each week. It also helps with consistency in prayer. If I don’t have a list in front of me, my mind often wanders. Having the requests written out in front of me helps me to stay focused.

Another benefit of writing something down is that I can come back to it later on in the week and look back and be encouraged or share it with someone else. My journals are my life-line.

Faithfully Stepping Journal

Matt and I developed a journal years ago that we have printed for ourselves personally and for our church family, but I am so excited to announce that they are finally available for purchase. Matt created three beautiful covers! I love all of them. They will be available on Amazon on Black Friday. Each journal contains six months of journaling pages and uses the system that Matt and I have used in our morning time for several years. If you want to take your relationship with God to the next level, these journals are the answer!