A few friends I met during the Hello Mornings Challenge: Aubrey, Kristi, me, Christine and Michelle.
(Note from Kat: Today’s post is from HelloMornings Team member Kris, who blogs at Always Alleluia.)
The alarm goes off at 0’dark thirty A.M. Before you start rolling your eyes, let me just say that I rarely make it out of bed at right then. But that’s the goal. Why would a tired mother of four sacrifice at least two potentially amazing hours of sleep, by her own choice?
I’ll tell you.
Because it makes a difference.
Before this season of life, I’d cling to my pillow, I’d roll out of bed when the baby beckoned or the toddlers moaned for breakfast.
I had no time to fully wake-up before I’d be forced to fully engage.
I resented the immediate demands put on me before I had the opportunity to make it to the bathroom, or grab a turbo shower.
When my oldest was two, if I didn’t shower before he got up, I’d be waiting until nap time or later that evening after my husband came home. And as for managing a decent devotional time?
Yeah, that wasn’t happening much either.
Spiritually, I was starving. Resentment swelled. A hole opened up in my spirit because there was no order to my mornings, no structure in place for my day.
I gained weight.
I lived in my stretched out yoga pants and ratty t-shirts.
I was irritable–restless.
It sounds bleak because it was.
Time passed, more babies, more weight, more demands on my time–
I realized something needed to change. Enter Hello Mornings.
Kat describes Hello Mornings like this:
“The Hello Mornings Challenge was birthed to encourage Christian women toward the life-giving habit of waking up early.”
How is getting up early “life-giving”?
Simply put, when you, as a Mom, are rooted in scripture and prayed up for the day, you have the ability to pour out more of yourself for your children, and family.
For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks. Luke 6:45
I know this from experience. I am about to begin my third Hello Mornings challenge and I have tasted the fruit that results from rising to the challenge (pun intended!)
Hello Mornings is a community of women who encourage and build each other up in Truth. <–Tweet This
It’s a network of faithful souls who lift each other in prayer, and hold accountable their fellow group members.
It’s hard to get up before the sun. It’s hard to exercise and plan and spend time in prayer when you’d rather be sleeping. I know.
But sometimes, God calls us to do the hard things. When we step out of our comfort zone and are forced to rely more fully on Him, He grows us in ways we couldn’t have imagined.
The women who participate in Hello Mornings don’t have a super power. They have friends and sisters in Christ holding them up in prayer. They have God in their hearts and on their lips as they encourage through scripture and kind words.
My life has been changed for the better by the Hello Mornings challenge.
There are over 3000 women registered for the fall Hello Mornings challenge from countries all over the world. That’s amazing. That’s God’s hand right there.
Registration for the next session will start in December, but you can join us now by following and using the twitter hash tag #hellomornings. Even if you aren’t officially part of the challenge, consider following the tweets, you’ll be blessed by what you read. That’s how I first discovered Hello Mornings. I’ve been impacted for the better as a result.
For more encouragement and “method behind the madness” of all this early rising, download Kat’s FREE ebook, Maximize Your Mornings.
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Matthew 6:33
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice;
in the morning I lay my requests before you
and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3
Let the morning bring me word of your unfailing love,
for I have put my trust in you.
Show me the way I should go,
for to you I entrust my life. Psalm 143:8
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
Are you a morning person? What is your biggest challenge in the mornings? Click here to join the discussion!
About Kris
Kris is a Jesus loving wife and momma to four kids. She serves as an Advocate for Compassion International and as the MOPS coordinator for her church. Besides homeschooling her kids, in her free time, Kris writes, runs, and pretends she’s a photographer and famous chef. You can follow her musings on faith, life and motherhood at her personal blog, Always Alleluia and on Facebook and twitter.
Do you think of the beautiful sunrise outside your door?
