Does your home feel chaotic and stressful? Are you looking for a way to make your home a peaceful haven for your entire family? I’ve written an ebook/workbook that will walk you step-by-step through the process of bring peace and beauty to your home. LEARN MORE HERE!
Now that you have taken a hard look at your own heart, it is time to focus on the pieces and parts of your day that are an expression (or not) of that peace.
Starting with your morning.
Mornings have never been easy for me. I am naturally a night person. However, even as a certified night owl, I have realized that in order to have peace in my home, I have to greet the morning with more than a grunt.
There are, of course, seasons in a woman’s life when mornings are more difficult to greet, but the principle remains the same despite the circumstances. Let’s take our cues from the Proverbs 31 woman:
She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls.
~Proverbs 31:15
This verse is less about what time she gets up and more about why she gets up. She greets the morning with productivity rather than laziness.
Now, I can hear a few of you screaming for your early morning coffee on the veranda, but let me challenge you…
Greet your morning with coffee AND plans and provisions for the day. You will find such peace in spending time with the Lord and setting goals for the day in the quiet of the morning.
From there, get up, get dressed, and get going!
Take the goals you have prayed over and start working through them, fully conscious of the peace you gain from knowing where you are going!
You won’t always {or ever} be able to meet every single goal you set in the morning, but having a plan will give you the focus you need to create an environment that is peaceful. It is the kind of peace that comes from knowing you began your day with purpose and praise.
Purchase the ebook!
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Miranda says
I’m not a morning person either… AT ALL. I have a daughter who gets up at 7 usually and it’s very hard for me to start my day with a good attitude. I find that immersing in His word and praying gives me the right attitude to start my day.
Doula Brandi says
Great! Finally a tangible “how to” guide to help me on my journey! Thanks Amy!
Christy dR says
Not a morning person either….specially in winter when it’s grey. But I’ve always tried to greet my kiddos with a good morning and a smile, which USUALLY sets the day off well. And it’s very helpful to have a husband who likes to cook breakfast for us, I’m so very grateful every morning. 🙂
abba12 says
When I get up, I’m motivated, that’s fine for me. My concern is the time.
All the large families I see, except you and one other, get up at like 5 or 6 in the morning :S That just dosen’t work for me, in fact after I suffered hyperemesis I have found I feel nauseous before 7am, it would render me useless.
So I’m looking for reassurance. Can a large family run, and do everything that needs to be done, when they wake up around 8:30? There’s less daytime hours, so less school and outdoor project hours. But if I got up at 5am I would have to get the kids to bed at 5 or 6pm at the latest for the 11 hours the little ones need, which sounds insane to me! So instead of dinner and showers in the late afternoon they can keep playing and learning, and have dinner and showers at night right? 🙂 And an 8pm bedtime sounds much more reasonable, as does 12 hours to allow for quiet wakefulness either side of the sleep.
A lot of families emphasise that mum needs to get up before the rest of the family, but again, that just dosen’t work for me, is it really nececary?
I feel a lot of pressure to ‘conform’, and I feel like people think I am harming my baby by teaching her to sleep so late (she dosen’t go to bed till 7:30 most nights anyway! We eat a late dinner because of guests and hubbys late work schedule, and she’s usually up at LEAST a half hour beforhand playing quietly in her cot until she gets bored and cries for me. I think that’s something worth encouraging!)
Plus, when you get older kids who need less sleep you either have to put them to bed later, sacrificing your time with hubby, or let them get up earlier provided they’re responsible. Getting up earlier than 8:30 is a whole lot more reasonable than getting up earlier than 5!
I don’t know, I just feel conflicted, like I can’t possibly do this without waking up early because everyone else is. But I just know early would not work for my family. It wouldn’t work for me or for my husband and I think my kids would miss out a little too, because daddy finishes work at the same time, whether it’s an hour before bedtime or 3 hours before bedtime.
Amy says
I know there are people who will totally disagree with me on this, but my home does not run any smoother whether I get up at 6am or 8am. It runs exactly the same except I tire out much earlier and become less productive earlier. I firmly believe when you look to the Proverbs 31 for a time to wake up, you are missing the entire point…productivity and care & concern for others.
Christine says
I’m only pregnant with #3, but I’ve had lots of the same experiences with people, and reconsidered how I “should” be doing things. But now I am totally comfortable with just going with the flow of our family! I am a morning person, so getting up at 6am usually feels great to me (except during the first trimester!). Basically… if you are able to complete what you need, to the glory of God, at the time you’ve allowed for your family, then go for it! Until recently, my girls always happened to wake up whenever I did, no matter how early or late it was~ so being up before them wasn’t really an option. Everyone goes through different stages, and things change! We just moved a couple of months ago, and prior to that, my girls (3 & 21 months) had a “regular” bedtime & routine, etc. Now, my husband gets home at completely different hours each night (usually late), so I know some people would go crazy to know the girls don’t have *any* bedtime. He leaves @5am before they wake up, and will usually get home between 630-830pm. Sometimes they’re up until 10 or 1030 so that they can have the last couple of hours of the day with daddy. And I’m totally fine with that- this season isn’t forever. Do whatever you can do, to the glory of God! 😉
The Momma @ The Straightened Path says
Wouldn’t you also venture to say that a great morning can be proceeded by a great evening of preparation?!
Amy says
Yes and Amen!
The Mama says
This is so true. When I’m bad in the morning- grabbing the computer and zoning with coffee- I am grumpy and much less productive. And that carries over.
If I can get up and get moving WITH the kids, life is so much smoother!