As I was falling asleep one night, a list started creeping into my mind that overtook my sleep. Instead of rolling over and ignoring the nudging I began to write down these words to share. Some are just fun, some are thought provoking and all are God – driven. Enjoy!
1.This is the day the Lord has made.
We will rejoice and be glad in it. Psalm 118:24 (NLT)
Our God beckons us each morning to rejoice over all His creation and to celebrate each new day. Get up, get moving and honor God in all you do today!
2. Coffee!!!!
I honestly could list coffee for reasons 1 – 7 but that’s because I love it so much! Coffee is an incentive for me to get out of bed but it’s not just the caffeine that is so enticing. Coffee reminds me of friendships and all those times I have shared coffee with friends. Coffee always brings an awareness of what warmth and security feel like and the knowledge of those people that provide it in my life. The ritual of drinking coffee each morning helps me to settle into my prayer time with God. Coffee centers me to focus on listening for God as I start my day. What centers you as you begin you day?
3. The chance to make a difference!
You have been given an opportunity from God to wake up each day and make a difference. Ecclesiastes calls to mind for us to seize the moment because each day is a gift from God. How will you seize your day? Get up and go forth and make a difference!
Seize life! Eat bread with gusto,
Drink wine with a robust heart.
Oh yes—God takes pleasure in your pleasure!
Dress festively every morning.
Don’t skimp on colors and scarves.
Relish life with the spouse you love
Each and every day of your precarious life.
Each day is God’s gift. It’s all you get in exchange
For the hard work of staying alive.
Make the most of each one!
Whatever turns up, grab it and do it. And heartily!
This is your last and only chance at it,
For there’s neither work to do nor thoughts to think
In the company of the dead, where you’re most certainly headed. Ecclesiastes 9:7-10 (The Message)
4. Many times what drives us to get out of bed are the responsibilities that we are faced with each day – a job, school, kids, appointments, etc.
There are many days that the thought of this does not provide the motivation needed to get out of bed. However, God promises us all we need by faithfully obeying Him. Deuteronomy relays this promise below:
13 So if you faithfully obey the commands I am giving you today—to love the Lord your God and to serve him with all your heart and with all your soul— 14 then I will send rain on your land in its season, both autumn and spring rains, so that you may gather in your grain, new wine and olive oil. 15 I will provide grass in the fields for your cattle, and you will eat and be satisfied. Deuteronomy 11:13-15 (NIV)
God honors and recognizes our ability to follow through with what is put before us. In return, we need to be responsible and take care of all that God has entrusted to us. This is evidenced in the book of Matthew in the story of a master and his servants. Bags of gold are given to each servant and they are to take care of the gold and increase the profits for the master. His response when the servant was successful is:21 “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ Matthew 25:21 (NIV)
God says the same to us “well done, good and faithful servant”. Start your day, get out of bed and honor God by doing the best you can with your responsibilities everyday.
5. The birds are up! What about you???
Every morning the chirping birds are right outside my window creating quite a ruckus. Ugh! Many days I bury my head in the pillows and do my best to muffle the tweeting. WHY ARE THEY SO LOUD AND WHAT IS KEEPING THEM SO BUSY? IT’S TOO EARLY! But have you thought about what these birds have going for them to cause them to start their day so early?
30 And to all the beasts of the earth and all the birds in the sky and all the creatures that move along the ground—everything that has the breath of life in it—I give every green plant for food.” And it was so. Genesis 1:30 (NIV)
God has made promises to all living creatures and the birds are not wasting anytime in doing their part to thank God for all He has done by worshiping Him through their chirping. Start your day and start worshiping!
6. Children – our blessing in disguise!
Our children cause us to get out of bed and many times it happens during the night and they don’t even wait until morning. As a parent, those days are some of the hardest that you will ever endure.
Children are the blessings in our lives that do all things listed in the quote above but the lessons we learn from them are priceless. God knew what He was doing when he blessed parents with children. So when you have sleepless nights due to your children or they decide to wake up much earlier than you wish on the weekends, begin your day by thanking God for them and ask Him to teach you and supply you with all you need to survive the day.
7. Get up and allow your potential to shine forth!
Potential you say? I’m sure there are days that you are not feeling it. In fact, just the thought of potential sends you scurrying back into bed and under the covers because the energy required to make it a reality is overwhelming. Rest assured – God sees the potential in each one of us and the best part is that He wants to invest in our lives. God does have the energy, knowledge and strength to take risks and believe me we are full of risks. Does this sound promising? Are you tempted to at least bring your foot out from under the covers? What we need to do is lean on God and allow Him to take that risk with us. Invest time each day in reading God’s word, listening, worshiping and spending time just being with Him. God will do the rest!
5 Trust in the Lord with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
6 in all your ways submit to him,
and he will make your paths straight. Proverbs 3:5-6 (NIV)
Remember the following everyday and don’t waste time – get out of bed!
“Following Jesus isn’t something you can do at night where no one notices. It’s a twenty-four-hour-a-day commitment that will interfere with your life. That’s not the small print—that’s a guarantee.” – Kyle Idleman, “Not a Fan”
Wonderful, wonderful reasons to get up and get moving. Thanks for sharing! And for linking up this week!
Thank you Rachel for the encouragement and for being so gracious in letting other bloggers link up for Whimsical Wednesdays!
Dear MG…I loved this post. All the tips were great especially numbers 4 and 7. And what gets me up in the morning??? My husband’s kisses and then him telling me my cup of Irish Breakfast tea is on the way! And in line with #4, it’s taking it seriously that my current “job” is fulltime wife/homemaker and writer. And I really do want to do a excellent job with these responsibilities from the Lord. Thanks for sharing. Linking up from Winsome Wednesday. Blessings…
Thank you and blessings to you today!