Don’t you love summer? I do…well, mostly. I live in Florida, but I can honestly tell you I was not created to live here. Summer is HOT! Not just hot; sweltering. Like my skin is just going to melt off and all I can think about is sitting is the shade, drinking an ice cold Diet Coke, and hoping that a breeze will kick up that is slightly less humid than the air that is presently trying to boil me alive. Yep, that is pretty much how I feel about Florida summer.
SummerTIME, however, is something I look forward to every year. No more schedules, no more teaching, just me and my bored amazing kids. Even though I always start off summertime thinking that I will just do whatever I want, whenever I want, it never seems to quite work out that way. Our schedule tends to fill up quickly with all kinds of travel. This last summer was no exception. Brian went to Alaska for work in June, followed by each kid having their turn at summer camp. We then wrapped up the summer with a family trip to Alaska, a piece of this earth that is quickly taking up residence in my heart. It was a sweet time of ministry and family time which none of us wanted to see come to an end.
Transition is hard for me. I don’t know exactly when it happens but somewhere between coming home from vacation and having to start real life again, I get beat down emotionally. There was some of that this year, but as I started looking toward the fall and thinking about my goals, my mood shifted. The Lord gave me an idea and anyone who knows me will quickly see that this did NOT come from me.
I am calling it “The 5am Experiment.”
Yep, starting today, for one month I am going to get up at 5am on the weekdays and watch how this effects my life.
I have been talking for years about writing a book on “Surrender” and what better way to start the writing process but from a place of surrender in my own life. As a self-professed “NOT a morning person” it was the first thing that God impressed upon me as I began thinking about what I needed to surrender in my life. I’m always saying, “I don’t have enough time!” Well, if I go to bed earlier and wake up earlier I just might find the time I have been looking for.
My posts over the next month will either be about this experiment or about something the Lord taught me during my time with him.
As I planned and prepared for this first morning, I found my excitement growing for what was to come. To sit with the Lord in the stillness of the morning. To hold a warm cup of tea in my hands, close my eyes, and just be still. To feel a sense of calm come and fill my anxious places. To study His Word and let His knowledge fill me. To seek his plan, to pray about how I can be used as I come across people who are in need of Him. This is what it’s all about. And as all of this came true this morning I realized…5am isn’t so bad after all.
Love this as I am an early morning riser. I look forward to hearing about your experiment!
What an awesome experiment! And it sounds like you’re being obedient to a calling from God as well, so woohoo!! 🙂 I can’t wait to hear how it goes. I get up around 5:45 every morning and have come to (mostly) enjoy mornings.