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Get ready, because I love a good morning routine. Fair warning: I am such a nerd about this. I know this sounds kind of extreme, but having a morning routine in place really enhances the quality of my life. I'm not kidding. It gives me something to look forward to at night. It starts my day off connected with the Lord and with a healthy mindset. It allows me to start my day in a place of abundance, which really determines so much of the rest of my day. So whether you have a solid morning routine or if you don't have one at all, this episode is for you.

For the full episode, hit play above or read through it below.

“How you start your day determines your day.” Simon T. Bailey said that once, and it has stuck with me. There's something so powerful about the first few moments of your day. Now, personally, as a mom, I feel like my day is just different if I wake up before my kids versus if they are the ones to wake up first and wake me up. I don't know. It just feels like I'm a little more ahead of the game. Now, there's no judgment here. This episode is for you to be inspired to do whatever is best for you and your family. And right now in the season of life you're in, if you need to maximize your sleep and cuddles in the bed are your favorite way to start, you do that. That was me for several months not too long ago when I had a newborn. But if you're like me, that leaves you feeling a little behind the game instead of ahead of the game. It might be good to consider creating some sort of morning routine or maybe tweaking yours a little bit for the season that you're in.

Now, like I said, I'm coming out of the season of life where I was feeding a newborn around the clock and I was exhausted. So, I want to speak to moms very briefly. If you're in a season where sleep is lacking, give yourself so much grace. Your morning routine can be as simple as this. Find one Bible verse or just one word, literally one word, to meditate on every day. That is it. Just at some point in the morning, it can even be like an hour after you wake up, after you've done all the things, just find one word. Speak that word over your kids and over your life. Pray it. Let it get into your spirit and just sleep when you can. Just give yourself grace, okay?

I'm slowly reestablishing my morning routine. It's not as long or robust as I want it to be, but I've come a long way since having baby number three. I love it for what it is right now. I'm going to walk you through my morning routine, and then I'm going to share with you two other leaders who have shared their morning routines on their podcasts or blog. I just think it's interesting and fascinating for all of us to share these ideas with each other because my morning routine's not going to look like yours, and that's good. That is fine. But it's just cool to hear how other people start their days.

So before we get into those, I want you to think about three guidelines or three rules for your morning routine as you think about, "What is my morning routine? What do I want it to look like?" The first thing is I want you to be sure that you're getting enough sleep. So really, your morning routine starts the night before. Waking up and having a long morning routine is not going to be a blessing to you if you're sleep deprived. Just take my word for it. And on that note, it might take you a few nights to get into a morning routine and establish new sleep habits and get in bed earlier. Because if you're a night owl, the first few days of waking up early and having a morning routine is just going to be terrible. That's how it was for me at first. That first week was terrible. I was so tired. I was like, "This isn't worth it." But if you make sure you get enough sleep, man, it's magical. It's awesome.

The second guideline is I want you to do something or a series of things that simply make you feel most like you. What are the things that make you feel most like yourself, that you can wake up, that you can enjoy the presence of God and the good gifts He has in your life, that you can just breathe easier, that you can feel comfortable in your own skin? Don't create a morning routine that's trying to be somebody else. Don't listen to the three morning routines I'm going to share with you today and compare yourself or try to do things that aren't enjoyable for you. Coffee's a big part of mine. If you don't like coffee, please do not have coffee as part of your morning routine. Make it something that you really enjoy because you feel like yourself.

The third rule or guideline is that you make sure that it fits the season that you're in. Like I said, it might be super simple. It might be strip down to hardly anything because you are in a really crazy season of life. Or it might be that your morning routine is like two and a half hours long, and that is awesome. If you have the ability to do that, more power to you. You do whatever fits the season of life that you're in right now.

A couple reasons why I do this, why is my morning routine so important to me, why do I get so pumped about this topic, well, I think that it's really important mentally to set yourself up in life with a series of rhythms that get you to enjoy life more, that just allow you to look forward to the next day. And you have control over that. You can choose to put things in your schedule and in your life that simply cause you to look forward to living. That's just good practice that it brings you joy. It's good for your mental health to do that.

Another reason I have a morning routine, it's good for my spirit. Spiritually speaking, it is grounding for me. It is a habit and a rhythm that I have. It's like an appointment on my calendar with the Lord where I meet with Him. I ask Him to speak to me. It's the first thing that I do every day. And when I spend that time with Him, I can guarantee you I'm going to be more patient. I'm going to be more loving. I'm going to be more aware of how He's speaking to me throughout the day versus if I just launch into my long list of things to do. I'm pretty much doing things more in my own strength, and that's me personally speaking for myself. But literally, I have kind of two kinds of days. When I've had that time with the Lord, it goes one way. When I haven't, I feel like I'm just operating in my own strength, and it's tiresome. It really is.

Another reason I have a morning routine is I want to wake up and happen to my day. I don't want to get to the end of my day and feel like my day happened to me. You know what I'm saying? You know. You know those days. When you wake up, and you have a plan, and you've woken up before the kids or before the sunrises and you've had your time to pray, to ground yourself, to plan your day, I mean, you feel good. It's amazing, and then you happen to your day versus when you're, like I said, always feeling behind. Those were the main reasons why I have a morning routine. Now, I'm going to take some time now, briefly walk you through the steps to my current morning routine, and then I'm also going to add in some things that I hope I get back to one day. Before I had kids, I had like an hour-long morning routine every single day, and it was wonderful, sometimes 90 minutes. It was beautiful. I'll get back there one day. I'm not there yet. I'll just kind of let you know what season I'm in now and maybe some things I hope to add in in the future.

So before I dive into my morning routine, there's a few things I do the night before that really set me up for success. I tidy the living room. I tidy the kitchen. I lay out my Bible, my journal, my favorite pen, whatever book or Bible study I'm doing at the time, and I put it in my spot where I'm going to have my quiet time. I get my favorite blanket ready. It's ready to go. Another thing I do, which is my favorite tip, I love to tell people about this, is I make my coffee the night before. Literally, it's genius. It's like a tiny little butler waiting for me in the morning like, "Here's your coffee. It's ready, Nancy." It's beautiful. I wake up, my whole kitchen smells like freshly brewed coffee, and I just walk over. We program it every morning for 5:30 or 6:00, and I walk up, and I pour myself a mug with my favorite creamer, and it's ready to go. I don't know why more people don't do this. I feel like this is brilliant. So if you're a coffee drinker, you're welcome. You need to start doing this. That tip alone was worth this whole episode for you. I kid you not. It's wonderful. Prepping the atmosphere for your morning routine is key. I sit down in my favorite spot, often times I'll light a candle, and I just get started. I think prepping the space is really key to making you look forward to him. So I sit down. I drink a cup of coffee.

The first thing I do as part of my morning routine is I just have two to three moments of silence. Now, as someone who loves to do things and accomplish things all the time, it's kind of hard to start your day with just sitting there. But man, it is important, and it is so good for me. I silence my mind. I enjoy the coffee for just two to three minutes, not very long. I just listen to the Lord. I just try to be quiet. That's it. I won't say anything. I don't pray. I just listen. That's how I start off my morning routine.

Then, I open up my Bible and my journal. And depending on my morning or kind of what I'm feeling in my spirit, I might start by writing out a prayer or I might start by reading scripture. Usually, I read one chapter in a Bible. Right, now I'm going through an actual Bible study, and so I might read one to two chapters in the morning depending on what the study's taking me through. Whatever it is, I just try to get scripture in my spirit.

And when I read, and I'm reading maybe a chapter or two, and I can tell if I'm not actually taking any of it in, I might say, "Okay, Nancy, hold up. Just read like half a chapter or just read like three verses and make sure you're actually getting it. Don't just skim over it and read it and not get anything." You know what I mean? Getting scripture in me, I think journaling is super important because it allows me to process the things that I'm feeling and the things that I'm learning, and it really turns it into more of a conversation with me and the Lord. A lot of times at the top of my journal, I'll just write the date, the weather, how I'm feeling, and then I'll write out a prayer or I'll rewrite a scripture that I've read that day.

Then, I'll pray over the schedule of my day. I'll ask the Lord to speak to me specifically about my day, that day. Knowing that there's never going to be another day like it, I ask him to help me prioritize. I ask him to help me have a good overall view and vision for the day that I would do the things that only I can do and that I would do them well. So after I pray over the schedule of my day, that concludes my morning routine right now. I just go about my day, and I'm much more aware of the presence of God in my life and His voice in my life.

Now, when I have some time added back in my life or I make more time in the morning and sacrifice a little bit more sleep because maybe I can sleep a little bit more on the front end, I am going to add in some reading time and some exercise time. Those are two parts of my morning routine, honestly, that I really miss that I did all the time when ... I guess before I had children, I had like an hour and a half morning routine. I would read 10 to 15 pages in whatever current book I'm reading, and then I would go on a run. But right now with the three little ones, I'm really grateful for the morning routine that I have.

So like I said, I love morning routines. I love looking at what other people do in their mornings, so there's two other people's morning routines that I want to share with you. This is Michael Hyatt's morning routine. He has amazing resources on leadership. I love following him and listening to his podcast Lead to Win. And Allie Casazza, she also has a podcast. She is all about mamas and living an abundant life. It's really fun to hear and listen to her podcast, The Purpose Show. But, I find their two morning routines particularly fascinating.

Michael, when he wakes up, he says that he makes a quick cup of coffee and he sits on the couch while listening to the sound of the ocean for 15 minutes. That is cool. I would never really think to do that. Also, 15 minutes sounds like an extremely long amount of time to me right now. But, how amazing? If you love the ocean, I mean, how amazing to start your day like that? That's pretty awesome. Then, he prays. He reads the Bible. He usually exercises going for a run around the neighborhood. He showers, he eats breakfast, he gets dressed, and he begins working.

Now, again, his morning routine could have changed by the time that I learned about this version of his morning routine because I really do think your morning routine just changes in seasons of life, and that's fine. But, I think the elements of his morning routine are pretty awesome, and I do love that he incorporates exercise as part of something he does every day. By the way, I also eat and get dressed every morning. I just sit and incorporate that as part of my morning routine. And let's be real, sometimes I don't get dressed until later, especially on my mama days when I'm not working.

Allie Casazza's morning routine I found really inspiring. She said she makes coffee. She goes into her living room and sits on the ground. She sits on the ground. It makes her feel grounded while she's drinking her coffee. Then, she stands up after she's done. She walks around her living room and prays out loud. She reads scripture, and then she journals three whole pages, three pages. She kind of walks you through that whole process in her episode about her morning routine, which I'll link to in the show notes, which is really fun to listen to.

But, I shared those extra morning routines with you just because I want you to be thinking about the possibilities. What could you do? What would be your favorite way to start your day? You can do whatever you want. It's a blank slate. But, I encourage you to, again, follow those guidelines that I set out for you. Make sure you're getting enough sleep. Do what makes you feel most like you and make sure that it fits the season that you're in.

One of my favorite books on this topic is called What the Most Successful People Do Before Breakfast. It's by Laura Vanderkam. This is such a good point. She says, "If you wait until the end of the month to save what you have left, there will be nothing leftover." Likewise, if you wait until the end of the day to do meaningful but not urgent things, like exercise, pray, read, ponder how to advance your career, or grow your organization, or truly give your family your best, it probably won't happen. If it has to happen, then it has to happen first. That's the whole point. That's why I get so excited about this topic because it is a way for you to take the things that are most important to you and allow them to happen first in a way that's enjoyable for you so you feel so filled up.

Now, can you imagine doing this ideal morning routine every single day? How would you feel? That is an actual possibility for you. I want you to know that you can do it. Now, it might take you a few days or a few weeks to get into the habit or rhythm of doing that if you don't do it already, but it's so worth it. It's so good.

Another thing that Laura Vanderkam says is getting things down to routines and habits takes willpower at first. But in the long run, it conserves willpower. So, I encourage you today. Take a minute. Think about, what do you want your morning routine to look like in this season of your life? What can make you feel most like you, connect with the Lord, and start your days off on the right foot?

As a side note, I, again, want to say thank you so much for all of your kind, generous reviews that you've left me. I just checked, and I'm still on the front page of the new and noteworthy section under the business category of Apple Podcasts. That is a huge deal. I am so grateful to you for listening, for being here. And if you haven't left a review yet, I would be so grateful if you did. Now, I am going to close with words from Nina Yau:

"There's never enough time to do everything, but there's always enough time to do the most important thing. It's not a matter of time, it's a matter of desire."

Thanks for listening, and I'll see you next time.

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