Are you an early bird or a night owl? Did you know that most people are neither? Most of us fall somewhere in between. I find that fascinating. There are some people who really enjoy getting up early, and there are some people that love staying up late. But most people are right down the middle—we like to sleep in a little, and we like to go to bed at a normal time.
I didn’t used to be a morning person. I got up early for years in junior high, high school, and then college. So when I got married, I hated having to get up early. But over the years, I have transitioned into a major morning person. That doesn’t mean I like getting out of bed every morning, but it means that I enjoy waking up before the sun comes up and having my morning routine before the rest of the house comes to life.
If I had to point to one thing that helps me to get more done each day, it would be getting up early. That has made the difference in increasing my productivity these past several years. I get soooo much more accomplished when I get up early.
4 Reasons Why Getting Up Early Transforms Your Day:
1. You get a jumpstart on your day. There is something about getting up early that makes me feel so good about jumping into my day.
2. There’s a peace and quiet that you can only experience if you get out of bed before everybody else. For me, the best time to do my morning time routine is in the quiet morning hours when it’s just Matt and I, a candle, and coffee.
3. You accomplish more. There’s something about getting up early that sets you up for success the rest of the day. I always accomplish more in my day when I get up at a good time, compared to the days I sleep in.
4. Early morning hours are like bonus points in your day. Somehow, whatever you accomplish just accumulates into more for the day.
Start Somewhere
If you want to be a morning person but struggle with it, start by getting up just five minutes earlier each day. That’s all you have to do to start. Eventually, add another five minutes and then another. Before you know it, you will be a morning person!
Have you ever found yourself getting away from reading your Bible and praying each day? We all know we’re supposed to do it every day. But then one day slips away from us, then two, then three. Soon, we find ourselves going way too long without a routine that involves Bible reading and prayer each day.
What do you do when that happens? Have you ever found yourself there? It’s paralyzing. You don’t even know where to start or what to read anymore. How do you get it going again?
Sometimes you just need to push reset and start fresh. You have to just decide that today is the day, and just do it. So here are my best tips for starting fresh.
My goal is not to overwhelm you in this post but to help you get back on track or start. Here’s just a few ideas to give you a jump start.
What Do You Need?
Light a candle that you love. If you don’t have one, this is an excuse to go get one! It doesn’t have to be expensive. Aldi and Walmart both offer cheap, delicious-smelling candles.
Make a good cup of coffee.
Grab a journal. If you need a good journal, check out our Faithfully Stepping Journals. They were created specifically for morning time, using the system that Matt and I use every single morning. But for now, use whatever you have.
Grab your Bible.
Find a comfortable place to sit; grab a blanket if you need to and a pen.
What Do You Read?
If you need encouragement, read the Psalms. A chapter or two a day is great.
When you feel overwhelmed with trials and hardships, read I and II Peter.
If you’re at a place in life that you need wisdom, read a Proverb each day.
The Gospels are great if you want to just get more of Jesus.
If you prefer to use a devotional along with your Bible reading, check out our Devotionals.
If you want to use your phone, use YouVersion and pick a plan to follow.
That’s it. Simply grab what you need and choose what to read and simply start! Start today; start fresh tomorrow morning. The important thing is simply that you start! I’m super passionate about this topic, because I know I would not be where I am today without my morning time routine. It has kept me grounded over the years at a time in my life when nothing else could!
More on This Topic
This post is just to get you started. If you’re looking to take it deeper, check out my free Morning Time Routine Course. We also teach a system called Thirty-to-THRIVE, that you can check out HERE.
If you’ve spent any amount of time with me in this corner of the world known as Faithfully Stepping, you know that I am passionate about developing a morning time routine. I believe having a time each day that you spend with God reading his word and praying is the most important thing you can do every single day. The reason I am passionate about it is that this is the way we develop our relationship with Jesus; and developing a relationship with God is the most important thing we can do.
The physician Luke put it this way:
Yes, a person is a fool to store up earthly wealth but not have a rich relationship with God.
Luke 12:21 NLT
Developing a Relationship with God
We know that our relationship with God is incredibly important, but sometimes we don’t know how to go about creating or cultivating a relationship with God. That’s where having a morning time routine comes in. When you follow a consistent morning time each day, you set yourself up to spend time with God each day. When you spend time with somebody every day, it’s impossible not to grow closer to them. That’s how it is in our relationship with God. You may not even get something every single day from your Bible reading, yet you feel blessed and encouraged simply by having spent time in God’s presence.
The Thirty-to-THRIVE System
So how do we do this? How do we create a morning time routine? Matt and I teach a simple system. It’s called 30-to-THRIVE.
You spend ten minutes reading from either your Bible or a devotional. If you need a good devotional, check out Manney Resources. We have several 30-Day Devotionals to choose from.
Then you use your journal to work through your prayer for the day. If you use our journals, there’s a section for gratitude, confession, and requests. Then there’s a section to write down what you learned from your Bible reading or devotional for the day.
Lastly, you spend time reading a book. This can be a Christian inspirational book, a book for work, a leadership book, a new hobby book, whatever you choose. It’s simply something that adds value to your day. I like to read Christian inspirational books as a part of my Bible reading time. Matt often reads a leadership book or a book that has something to do with working with people or pastoring. Check out my page for book reccommendations, or you can pick up one of our books.
Resources for Morning Time
You can find everything you need to get started at Manney Resources. Below is a picture of just a few of our resources. Journals on the left, books on the right, and devotionals at the top.
Manney Resources
Making It Special
To make your morning time special, I suggest adding a candle, a cup of coffee, some pretty pens, and a basket to keep all your materials in.
That’s it; that’s how you create a morning time routine. It’s simple, yet it can change your life. If you are more of a visual type of person, I created a video series on getting a morning time routine started.
If you can develop a morning time routine and stick with it, I can guarantee you will grow in your relationship with God and in your faith. It will become the grounding force in your life and will carry you through times of discouragement, depression, and defeat. How do I know this? Because it’s done that for me; that’s why I’m so passionate about it. This is simply a tangible way to have a relationship with God, and a relationship with God is the most important thing in your life!
I absolutely love these new covers on these journals! I’m going to be honest. You all voted on your favorites, and the overwhelming favorite was the Rest in God’s Love Journal. Matt and I both were surprised as it wasn’t a favorite for either one of us. But I have to say…now that I have it in hand, I love it!
I’m so glad you all voted for this one and pushed us into doing this one. I think you’re going to love it as much as we do. We are really happy with how how the other two journals turned out as well. I picked the Morning by Morning Journal. That was my favorite cover. I will be using that one as soon as I’m done taking pictures of it.
The coffee and Jesus Journal was the second most voted for cover. Matt has already claimed that one to use for his morning time routine.
Here’s an inside look at the journals, in case you’re interested. Each journal is exactly the same inside. The Faithfully Stepping Journals are six-month journals.
Now is the Time!
If you have been wanting to get a morning time routine started, now is the best time! Grab one of these gorgeous journals and get started today! You can read my post, or you can watch the free video series I created on how to get a morning time routine started.
We teach the 30-to-THRIVE System for our morning time routine. You can read the post to learn how to do it, but here’s the simple formula.
Find These New Journals and More!
You can find everything you need to get a morning time routine started including a free morning time guide, as well as devotionals, journals, and books from Manney Resources.
If you get a morning time routine started, I would love to hear about it. Respond to this email or reach out to me on social media. Snap a picture of your morning time routine and let me know how it’s going!
This post contains affiliate links. Read my full disclosure HERE.
30-to-THRIVE System
Our Passion
Matt and I have a passion to help people develop a morning time routine. Having a consistent morning time routine of Bible reading, prayer, and journaling has been the number one grounding factor in our lives that has kept us from giving up and sticking with what God has for us and in turn has helped us to thrive.
So many times over the years, we have gotten discouraged and wanted to quit our church plant. When people got upset with us, when we didn’t get paid for months on end, when we felt like God had forgotten us, when we had to sell our house…during all of those times, having a consistent morning time kept us from quitting and walking away.
Manney Resources
Because it’s made such an impact on our lives, we have a burden and desire to help others learn to develop a morning time routine of their own. So, we created Manney Resources where we sell books, journals, and Bible studies to help Christians grow their faith one day at a time. Because we believe if you change your morning, you can grow your faith, and change your life.
If you check out Manney Resources, you will see you can download a free Morning Time Routine Guide. I highly recommend doing that. The Morning Time Routine Guide is a 6-page personal guide to kick-start your mornings, transform how you study the Bible, help you get consistent with your prayer-time, turn Bible reading into a reflection that you will take through your day, and read more books to improve your career, build your relationships, and grow your faith in just 30 minutes a day.
The 30-to-THRIVE System
Matt and I have turned our morning time routine into an easy 30-minute system that we call thirty-to-thrive. There are three steps to the system. Each step takes ten minutes, resulting in thirty minutes.
10 minutes reading a devotional or Bible passage⠀⠀
The first step is to spend ten minutes reading a devotional, such as our He Still Calms Storms Devotional, or reading the Bible. You Version has tons of Bible reading plans to choose from and is a great resource.
10 minutes writing in a journal
Faithfully Stepping Journals
The second step is to journal. I recommend using my Faithfully Stepping Journal. I created these journals specifically for women using the system I’ve used for years. Whether you use my journal or another journal, the process is simple. There are two sections—a section for prayer and a section for journaling about what you’ve read.
Prayer
Gratitude. Write down at least three things you are grateful for.
Confession. Write down what you need to confess from yesterday.
Requests. Write down what you are praying for today.
Journaling
Write down anything that encouraged you from what you read. It may be a thought or an actual verse. Writing down what impacted you will help it stay with you for the rest of the day.
*Just a note: The Faithfully Stepping Journal has a third section. This section is for writing down thoughts, reminders, or tasks for the day that come to mind while you are writing in your journal.
10 minutes reading a book⠀⠀⠀
A huge part of growing as a Christian and staying encouraged comes from reading good Christian inspirational books. If you read just ten minutes a day, you could easily read ten books a year. You can find a list of some of my favorite books HERE, or you can check out the books I’m currently reading.
I believe God can use books in a powerful way in our lives. I believe that because I’ve seen it happen. When Matt and I get discouraged, we will often go to Barnes and Noble and buy a book or two. Books have played a huge role in who we are, what we believe about God and life around us, the work we do, and our overall spiritual health and encouragement.
It’s Time to THRIVE
Developing a morning time routine is the most important thing you can do to develop your faith and grow in your relationship with Jesus. Try it for just one week and see if if doesn’t make a huge difference in your life and you begin to thrive!
It’s a beautiful new year. There’s something about the beauty of a new year. It’s empty and full of so many possibilities. Because my passion is mornings, I see 365 mornings stretched out before me. I see 365 new mornings and new mercies.
It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.
Lamentations 3:22,23 KJV
God’s compassion starts fresh every morning. He gives us a fresh supply of mercy and compassion each morning. That’s the most encouraging thought as we face a brand new year.
Facing this New Year with Confidence
While everybody around us may face this new year with fear, trepidation, and uncertainty, we can step into this year with confidence in a God who has not forsaken us, in a God who gives us a clean slate every day.
Just as we can be sure that the sun will rise every day this year, we can be equally sure that God will walk alongside us every day in this new year.
If you want this year to be better than any other year so far, I believe it begins with three simple steps. If you want to have the best year yet, start with these three steps.
1. Write Down Your Goals and Dreams for this Year
My Dream Journal
If you want to accomplish something great, it starts with writing it down. Take the time in these first few days of the new year to write down all the dreams you have for this year and what you want to accomplish.
Inside my Dream Journal before I wrote down my goals for the year
If you don’t write it down, you probably won’t accomplish it. Every year, I take the time to write down what I want to accomplish. Those goals range from books I want to write, projects I want to complete, vacations I want to take, places I want to visit, things I want to do, goals personally, and more.
“Setting goals is the first step in turning the invisible into the visible.”
Tony Robbins
“People with clear, written goals, accomplish far more in a shorter period of time than people without them could ever imagine.”
Brian Tracy
2. Get Up Early
If you want to accomplish great things for God this year, it starts with getting up earlier. When Matt and got really serious about our mornings and got up earlier than we ever had before and started doing it on a consistent basis, our creativity and productivity grew in leaps and bounds.
If you want to find extra time in your day to begin to accomplish your dreams, I believe it can be found in getting up earlier and starting your day with God, then moving on to what He has for you for the day. There’s so many wasted hours waiting to be claimed in the early morning hours.
“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning, for 40 years, supposed a man to go to bed at the same hour at night, is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”
Philip Doddridge
3. Develop a Morning Time Routine
After you set goals and determine to get up earlier, the third step is to develop a consistent morning time routine. This is the routine you do every morning that sets you up for success for the rest of your day. My morning time routine starts with making a cup of coffee and lighting a candle. Then I begin my time with God. Reading my Bible, journaling, and doing my prayer time. For more details about my morning time routine, read Creating a Morning Time Routine You Love.
Matt and I have created a system we call 30 to THRIVE. It consists of reading your Bible or doing a devotional for 10 minutes, journaling for ten minutes, and reading a book for ten minutes. You can find out more at Manney Resources where you can download a free Morning Time Guide to help you get started on your journey,
Matt and I believe that if you can change your morning, you can grow your faith and change your life, and you do that best by developing a morning time routine.
2021
2021 can be your best year yet! Start with writing down your goals for the year, then figure out how to get up earlier consistently. Lastly, implement a morning time routine and see if that doesn’t make this year your best one yet!
With the kind of year 2020 has been, we shouldn’t be surprised at how this election is going. Yet, most of us are still shaking our heads saying, “What now?”
I told my ten-year-old and my nine-year-old that there has never been an election like this before. In elections past, if you stayed up really late, you would know who the winner was. If you couldn’t make it that late, you could wake up the next morning and check the news to see who the new president was. But not this year! Because this is 2020- the year of insanity!
I think I speak for most of us when I say this- we are scared right now. There is so much divisiveness in our country, and this election is just stirring up more unrest. No matter who you voted for, there is uncertainty, fear, and frustrations on both sides.
What Do We Do?
There is only one place to turn when life is uncertain and fear is so prevalent—God’s Word. I read these verses in Psalms, and they were a comfort to my heart. I hope they bring you comfort as well.
Hurry with your answer, God! I’m nearly at the end of my rope. Don’t turn away; don’t ignore me! That would be certain death. If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting in you. Point out the road I must travel; I’m all ears, all eyes before you. Save me from my enemies, God— you’re my only hope! Teach me how to live to please you, because you’re my God. Lead me by your blessed Spirit into cleared and level pastureland.
Psalm 143:7-10 MSG
How do we Alleviate Our Fears?
I love all of these verses, but the part that caught my attention was verse eight. “If you wake me each morning with the sound of your loving voice, I’ll go to sleep each night trusting you.” David understood getting up early to spend time with God. He makes references to it many times in the Psalms.
If we can make a habit of getting up first thing in the morning and spending time with God, reading His Word and praying, we can go to bed peacefully at night. Getting our hearts aligned with God every morning helps us to sleep peacefully at night.
With everything going on around us, our automatic response is to hide, to not deal with what’s going on. We are tempted to sleep in and not face life or get up just in time to get ready and head out the door for work. But it’s during stressful times like these that we need God the most.
So as hard as it is, (I get it) try to get up a few minutes early to be able to spend time talking to God and reading His Word. I promise if you do, you will find incredible peace.
If you don’t know what to read, start with the Psalms. The Psalms are very peaceful and meditative. It’s exactly what we need right now when stress is running high. Just pick one chapter in Psalms to read each day. Pick a verse or a phrase that stands out to you and write it down in a journal for the day. This will help you remember it, so you can think about it throughout your day. When you start feeling fearful or stressed, think about that verse and let it calm you and bring peace to your heart.
If you don’t know what to pray, follow this simple process.
Thank God for something today.
Confess your sins from yesterday.
Pray specifically about today.
Simply talk to God. Tell Him what you’re scared of, what you’re struggling with. If it’s easier, write it down in a journal. Get what’s in your heart and rattling around in your head down on paper. If you do that and give those burdens to God, you are going to feel so much lighter as you begin your day.
Then as you head to bed at night, pray one more time. Give your burdens, worries, fears, and questions to God. Then sleep peacefully knowing your God is watching over you.
I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, Lord, only makest me dwell in safety.
Psalm 4:8 KJV
What’s the Point in Worrying?
So instead of throwing our hands up in frustration asking, “What now?”, let’s turn our attention to the One Who is in charge. The thing is, God already knows who will win the election. He knows what’s going to happen after the election. He already has it under control, and us worrying about it isn’t going to change one thing. So give your burdens to God today and sleep peacefully tonight knowing that God has it all in control.
How you spend your morning can often tell you what kind of day you are going to have.
Lemony Snicket
Mornings, I believe, are the most important part of our day. We can learn to leverage our mornings to give us the best start to our day possible. I believe the answer to a great morning is to develop a morning time routine you love.
Creating a Morning Time Routine
1. Get Up Early
This is by far the most important step. Getting up early is different for everybody, and it looks different in different stages of life. For now, let’s say getting up early is getting up at least thirty minutes before your kids get out of bed or thirty minutes before you start your regular day.
There is something special about getting up early. I have never regretted the mornings I get up early. The quiet hours in the morning before everyone else wakes up are what I call the magic hours. I love the peace and quiet with quiet music playing and my candle burning. I love seeing the sun come up. Where I live in the city, I can’t see the sunrise each morning, but I can watch as light begins to appear.
“The time just before dawn contains the most energy of all hours of the day. This has helped me become an early riser and an early doer…. When I wake to see that it’s light out already, I feel the world has started without me.”
Terri Guillemets
“The difference between rising at five and seven o’clock in the morning for 40 years, supposed a man to go to bed at the same hour at night is nearly equivalent to the addition of ten years to a man’s life.”
Philip Doddridge
During the school year, I get up really early because once my kids get up, we start school and I am busy the rest of the day. The hours I spend in the morning before my kids get up are the most productive hours of my day.
No one but you can decide what time you should get up in the morning. If this is something you struggle with, start small. Start with getting up just thirty minutes before your kids get up or before you get ready for work. Once that becomes easy, try adding another fifteen minutes. Keep adding fifteen minute segments until you reach your goal time.
The first thing I do when I come downstairs in the morning is to light a candle. My favorite candles for years have always been Bath and Body Candles. I wait until they are on sale, then pair them with a twenty percent off coupon. The best sale of the year is Candle Day in December. It’s estimated to be December 5th this year. Candles are at their lowest price on this day. You can buy up to 15 candles.
My friend, Keya, started Masterpiece Candles Co this year. So I’ve been using her candles as well. She just came out with her fall line of candles. I can’t wait to order some!
Masterpiece Candles
Lighting a candle with a scent you love creates the perfect background for a good morning time.
3. Make a Cup of Coffee
I love a little bit of coffee with my french vanilla creamer in the morning! Being a creature of habit, I pretty much make the same kind of coffee every morning. I usually make a cup of Wawa decaf coffee and put in French Vanilla creamer. My favorite creamer is Wawa’s French Vanilla creamer. My second favorite is Coffee Mate French Vanilla creamer. In the fall, I switch to decaf pumpkin coffee if we can find it. (I get headaches from caffeine, hence the decaf.)
4. Turn on Music
Matt likes to turn on worship music first thing in the morning. So usually, that’s what we listen to. If it’s just me in the morning, I usually listen to quiet piano music.
My Morning Basket
My Morning Time Basket
1. My Bible
This is pretty easy. You need a Bible that you love. Pick whatever version you are most comfortable with. Pick one that’s pretty. There are so many beautiful and fun Bibles to choose from nowadays that don’t cost a lot.
2. My Journal
My Faithfully Stepping Journals
Any journal will do. I used to use journals from the dollar store or Hobby Lobby. You can easily do that. Or you can order one of my Faithfully Stepping Journals, available on Amazon. The process is the same, whether you use one of my journals or your own.
Prayer Time
Gratitude
Confession
Requests
Bible Reading
Write down what you read for the day
Write down any verse or thoughts that stand out to you or encourage you
I’ve included a picture for reference. If you use a regular journal, just follow these same steps.
Inside the Faithfully Stepping Journal
3. A Book
I always read at least a few pages in whatever book I am currently reading after I finish my Bible reading, journaling, and prayer time. Currently, I am reading three books. I just about finished reading You Are the Girl for the Jobby Jess Connolly. I’m loving it. I am also reading Boss Up by Lindsay Teague Moreno and Love Lives Here by Maria Goff. (I left that book up on my nightstand so it missed the picture.)
4. My Planner
After I finish reading a few pages of my book, I write down what I need to accomplish for the day. The days I write down my goals for the day are so much more productive than the days I don’t. I love being able to cross things I accomplish off my list!
I use different planners every year. The one I am currently using is from Walmart. If you want to spend a little more, Erin Condren’s planners are great. You can customize them and get them personalized. I got Matt one with his name on it last year for Christmas. He’s already asked for one for this Christmas. He tells me all the time that it’s his favorite.
5. My Dream Journal
I always have a journal that I keep in my basket to write down goals, dreams, ideas, and more. You never know when an idea is going to hit you, so I keep it in my basket. I use it at the beginning of the year to write my goals for the year. Then I check it periodically throughout the year to see how I’m doing.
6. Pens
It sounds obvious, but having pens is important. There is nothing worse than sitting down and not having a pen to write with. My favorite pens for journaling are papermate colored-ink pens.
7. A Basket
Last but not least, I have found the easiest way to keep track of all my supplies for my morning time routine is to keep them in a basket. I keep buying the same pink and white chevron basket from Hobby Lobby because I love it.
Here’s all my materials spread out
Creating a morning time basket is fun. I love getting new books and supplies for mine. It’s also a really easy way to start developing a morning time routine. It makes the time more enjoyable and something to look forward to. This is the best time to develop a morning time routine because Fall Mornings Make the Best Mornings.
Creating and Implementing a morning time routine you love will be the best thing you’ve ever done. Give it a try and see if it doesn’t turn around your entire day!
