F is for Five things to fill your cup each morning

Fourteen precious souls sat in a circle — we, a small group of women, part of a large group of women, adventuring through the book of Galatians. We talked, shared our desire to remain faithful each day in spending time with God in His Word. But a common theme surfaced through almost every voice:

“I’m not a morning person.”

Have you ever said those words?

If you have it’s totally fair, the claim is legit. Research shows that our Circadian Locomotor Output Cycles Kaput (CLOCK) genes affect whether we prefer mornings or evenings. It does seem strange to me that everyone I meet claims they are not a morning person, but hey, no one knows you like you know you!

However, whether we like it or not, mornings happen, so we better figure out a way to make them work and make them work well.

Insert Tsh Oxendreider.

The girl is just so stinkin’ helpful, that’s what she is. If you’ve ever read her stuff, none of it is rocket science, it’s just that she presents her ideas in a fresh, creative, easy-to-implement way that makes you nod and say, “Yeah, I can do that!”

Her latest e-book, One Bite At A Time ($5) gives you 52 easy-to-do projects for simplifying your life. One of my favorites?

Establish your 5-part morning routine.

She explains:

A methodical morning routine is a great way to treat yourself to a little soul care. Instead of starting your day by responding to the stimulus around you, you’re proactively creating the day you want to have. When you wake up and do the most essential things first, you get a good start to your day. Your mind is better focused on the rest of your day’s tasks. And you’ll do a better job taking care of the people you love most. In short, you’re on top of things. Treat yourself to a little order and sanity before the chaos of life begins.

I like this. And while I already had an established routine for quiet time and Bible study, this helped me work a few other things in, such as exercise and showering .  It also helped me work a few things OUT, such as checking my email. Listing out my five things helped me see that the way to get it all done in the morning was to be more disciplined about not letting the outside world into my world until I’d already nourished my body and soul. I look at it as the five things that fill my cup each morning. These are things that FILL, not drain. There will plenty of draining that happens all day, we need to start being FILLED!

Here are some ways you might choose to fill your cup: Take a shower, pray, read your Bible, drink a glass of water, journal, stretch, exercise, listen to a particular song, go for a walk, make your bed, take vitamins, sit outside with a cup of coffee. Pick five and fill on up!

There’s no perfect morning routine, and I don’t share my routine because it needs to be yours. If you really cannot think in the morning perhaps you do your Bible study later in the day but just take 5 minutes to get on your knees and thank Him for life? Or perhaps you listen to the Bible on audio while you’re still in bed? Do what fills your cup.  This is my cup, and I’d love to hear about yours — perhaps we can inspire one another and live our days brim full. {Thanks for reading…}

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The five ways I fill my cup each morning…

1. Get face-down and thank God for the gift of another day of life.

2. Make coffee or tea 🙂

3. Quiet time, Bible study, prayer

4. Exercise (a run or work-out video)

5. Shower

(In case you’re wondering, yes I must begin this early in order to be done by the time my little monkeys rise. But it’s worth it because when I see their faces I can smile wide and say, YES, I’m ready for you!)