Morning Quiet Time Routine
Happy Monday!
I hope you had a restful weekend. I spent it hanging out with Cam, loving on puppies, and visiting a pumpkin patch.
I’m definitely needing to ease into my week. This one’s a busy one with one test and a project that I’m working on, but I’m hoping it will include some fun stuff like coffee with a friend, a blog shoot, and maybe a trip to the museum! In order to have such a positive week no matter what my planner says I have going on, there’s one thing I always make sure to do.
I’m such a strong believer in starting your day off on the right foot.
I think this can and will look different for everyone, but it’s important that you find what sets you up for success each day. I know some meditate for 10 minutes. I know some need to sleep in for an extra 10 minutes. And I know some that prefer to row across a dark lake at 5 a.m. It’s just what works for you.
For me recently, I need my quiet time with God. I need to plug in, check in, remember why I am on this earth, etc. It helps me be present and vigilant for the rest of the day. I feel a little less irritated when sitting in traffic….
Put my phone on airplane mode the night before, so I won’t be bothered by any notifications in the mornings.
If I wake up to a bunch of missed texts and Snapchats, I’ll just spend the first 20 minutes of the day on my phone rather than focusing on a gentle and centering routine. I’ll put my phone on airplane mode at night, so in the morning I can go through my routine and then choose when I’d like to get all my missed notifications.
Make coffee
I have become a slave to our espresso machine. And it’s nice. I’ve seen it in Sur La Table and there’s one too many zeroes in the price. But it’s so worth it. And we get our coffee here. I used to be totally ok with any old cup of coffee, but I’m a total snob now. I’ll drink a Starbucks or a drip brew for my second cup if needed, but I really need that first cup from our coffee machine. (*makes mental note to register for the same one the second I get engaged.*)
Head to my reading chair
If you can have a designated spot for morning quiet time, that’s great. I know not every morning is the same, so many some days you’ll need to be at the breakfast table with your oatmeal. I love my little reading nook I’ve created in my room. I’ve mentioned before that Cam got me this chair from work, but here is a similar option.
At my chair, I have a basket (linked similar here) that holds my journals, devotional books, and Bible. I also keep my favorite pen right on the chair. I snuggle in with my coffee and blanket and get to reading.
Play worship playlist on my Amazon Echo dot
#notsponsored 🙂 I love my echo dot! Cam got it for me for my birthday. I use it as a speaker. (And I always ask “Alexa, what time is it?” because I’m frequently running around my room getting ready and always want to know how dangerously close I am to being late 🙈
But I have been building this epic worship music playlist on my Spotify account for a few months now and I have over 50 songs! It’s a lot of Hillsong, Elevation Worship, and Brian and Katie Torwalt….a.k.a. it’s awesome. I’ll just turn the music on low while I do my morning quiet time.
1. Jesus Calling devotional
I’ve seen this devotional posted on social media since my senior year of high school. (Which Facebook memories likes to remind me was 5ever ago…#feelingold.) I never bought it because I have this weird complex with not having trendy objects. I look at my quiet time with Jesus as my time in my way, so I felt having the same devotional as every other Christian lady would be counterintuitive. But ya know what, often times, when something is really popular, that’s because it’s GOOD. (This theory does not comply with Valentine’s Day conversation hearts – yuck – or those gosh dang waist trainers…no thank you.)
I actually found my Jesus Calling devotional at Goodwill for a dollar. So that was a big push to just join the bandwagon already. I’m really liking it so far! (I’ve done a little over a month now.) Each day you have a lesson, and it’s written as if Jesus himself was having a conversation with you. (That may seem odd, but I find it’s really helpful if you’re new to devotionals and maybe have a heard time putting verses into perspective.)
2. Then, there are a couple verses listed where the commentary has been pulled from.
For example, let’s say the verses were the ones listed for today:
LIST
LIST
I’ll look those up in my Bible. (I have a Catholic Youth Bible in the NIV translation, but I’d really like to get a new, non-youth version for Christmas.) Then I may just read them or journal them, depending on how I’m feeling.
3. Read verse of the day on Bible app (and sometimes the entire chapter)
I sometimes omit this step in my morning quiet time routine if it’s a day where I have to be out the door shortly after waking. If that’s the case, I’ll come back to this point later on when I’m parked at work but it’s too early to go in (lol) or when I just am taking a study break later in the afternoon.
But if I have time…I open the Bible app on my phone and see what the verse of the day is. Sometimes I just read it and copy it down and try to memorize it. (Committing verses to memory is really therapeutic. You can recall them in times of stress, anxiety, etc. and it’s very centering…like a mantra!)
If I’m really wanting to dig more into what it’s about, I’ll press the button to “read full chapter”. I may jot down a few more lines or just use the highlighting features within the app.
And just a quick note, the journals I like most are the Rifle Paper Co. lined notebooks. I have three! But I’ll also just pick up any old cute Journal from Marshall’s/HomeGoods when I need one.
That’s it for my routine! I’d love to hear about yours. I’m trying to incorporate more yoga/stretching on the days that I run after quiet time, so I’d love to know if you have any apps or videos you watch for a bit of stretching and/or yoga. I think my muscles would really thank me if I did this!
Do you have a morning quiet time routine? What do you prefer to read and journal on?
X,
Cristina
