Hey you guys! This is Kelsie Millet and I am your host here on the Let Him In Podcast, where
my intent is to have these episodes full of thoughts, impressions and ways for you to easily let God into your every day.
I loved chatting about peace with you guys yesterday morning, and I wanted to continue diving into that topic a little bit more, but in a slightly different direction. Yesterday we really focused on Christ being who and where we can find internal peace, and how through Him we can let go of the past and anxiety we may have for the future to allow us to live in the present moment.
I believe this to be the starting point of having peace in our lives. And I say starting point, because what does this really look like in our everyday life? How can we live in a more God focused vs. Self focused way.
How do you wake up in the morning? Do you hit your alarm several times before finally rolling out of bed? Do you wake up and immediately you’re out of bed because you can’t imagine just laying in bed “wasting time”. Do you give yourself a couple of minutes laying in bed, maybe scrolling your phone to help you wake up? Or maybe you’re that lucky mom that is waking up to kids dragging you out of bed every morning.
Whatever your first couple of minutes of waking up looks like- we all take at least a second to orient ourselves, and when we do, where do our thoughts go?
Is it about our schedules? Everything on our to do list and what we are hoping to get done for the day? Do we have any passing thoughts about God?
This is just one example of where I think it is important for us to really almost retrain our minds to be more God focused vs. Self focused. Obviously thinking about our day and what we would like to accomplish is not a bad thing. At all. But, what would happen if we literally started our day with God. That he wasn’t further down our list of thoughts.
I feel like I go in and out of seasons where I am good at starting my morning being God focused until something disrupts that flow-
I go to bed too late the night before, or I left a big to do list the day before for me to wake up to. Maybe I had a kid wake up in the middle of the night and I am just overly exhausted.
I notice that these are the things that will make my thoughts start more self centered in the morning. I wake up thinking-
I am tired, I need more sleep. I have so much I need to get done today. I don’t have energy already how am I supposed to get through the day.
Vs.
Waking up feeling refreshed, well rested, thanking God for my breath, my home, my safety, my body, my children.
A heart full of gratitude I have noticed is a heart ready to serve. Ready to be moved how needed. It puts me in a mind sight that I am God’s hands. As I serve my children, my family, etc. This type of energy invites Peace.
So what I’ve learned, is that one of the biggest things that determines my morning is how I go to bed the night before. They go hand in hand. I need rest. I need to go to bed with my home in a clean state. Again, this is just me personally. You may need completely different things to allow yourself to wake up with a clear mind. Do what you need to in order to wake up this way. It is going to make all the difference.
Then once we have figured out how to wake up God focused and with that sense of peace. Let’s protect it. What I mean by that, is that we live in a world full of distraction, full of opportunities for the adversary to take away that peace so slowly that we most of the time don’t notice we are losing it until it is gone.
By protecting our peace first thing in the morning, it can really put us not only in the right mindset, but truly allow God to step in and help us hold onto our peace throughout the day.
I am not perfect by any means at implementing these steps I am going to share, every single morning. But it truly does make a huge difference for me when I do these 5 things when I first wake up. I also will add that I am one that loves to lay in bed for a good 10 minutes before getting up and so most of these happen while I am still laying in bed.
Before jumping in to the 5 things I do, it’s important for me to mention that I don’t reach for my phone first thing, I make sure that I do all 5 of these things before I allow myself my phone- And really, if I can I intentionally leave my phone in my room and go about my day until I need it, that is an even better situation.
Ok, so the first thing, talk to God. If you want you can make this a full prayer, it could also look like what I call a one liner prayer, where it is just a quick good morning to our Heavenly Father- The point is, don’t let your feet touch the ground in the morning unless you have said something to God.
Second, hydrate. I know this probably sounds so random. And you may not immediately relate this to something that is going to protect your peace- But, as small of a thing as this is, it is something you are immediately doing for you. As women we give and give all day long. Which is great a too point, unless we are giving from an empty cup. We can’t have peace if we are annoyed at everyone around us. For me, annoyance can come from taking care of others if I am not first taking care of myself. Hydrating, taking a quick drink of water is a simple, quick act of doing something that is for yourself that most likely your body also needs first thing in the morning.
Third, breathe deeply. Take 5 deep breaths. These are big intentional breaths. Allow yourself to center and become present. If you want, you can even use your connection roller. We do not need to wake up in fight or flight mode…and a lot of us do. So just allow yourself 30 seconds and gift this to yourself. Take 5 deep breaths.
Fourth, journal. This does not have to necessarily be with your Hear Him journal, although this is a great time for that. But really just spending a couple minutes writing. There are so many benefits that come when we journal first thing in the morning- I am actually going to link an article about this in the description below if you want to dive more into this topic. But overall the article shares 5 different benefits we can get from journaling in the morning.
- Starting your day off on a more positive/ grateful note
- It can allow yourself to be more in alignment with your intentions for the day
- It can improve your focus and productivity
- Helps you get out mental clutter
- Helps free up your mindspace for what is truly important
Now the 5th and final thing I do to protect my peace is practicing gratitude. This can easily be part of your journaling practice. Or can look as simple as telling your spouse or children you are thankful for them when you see them first thing in the morning.
These 5 little practices can become the armor you need for your day. It only takes me 5-15 minutes each morning and is completely doable. Even if these steps are interrupted by answering your kids questions, or having to make breakfast. That isn’t going to make it so that this doesn’t work. Allow yourself some flexibility and just aim to get these 5 things in during the first hour of your morning.
Today’s thought comes from Ephesians Ch: 6-
“Put on the whole armour of God, that ye may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.
“Stand therefore, having your loins girt about with truth, and having on the breastplate of righteousness;
“And your feet shod with the preparation of the gospel of peace;
“Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.”
If you implement these 5 steps I would love to hear your experience on how you feel like it protects your peace throughout the day.
For those of you that do have the Hear Him journal, Now would be the perfect time to pull that out and continue in more stillness, an open mind and a desire to connect with God.
Love you guys!
References:
Leave a Reply