Cultivating Calmness: 1 Simple Step to Calmer Mornings
If you missed last week’s post about Cultivating Calmness you can view it HERE.
I am not the master of calm mornings, but I have been the creator of completely chaotic ones. I guess you could say, I have learned the hard way what not to do in the morning when children need to be fed, dressed and sent out the door for school.
But all things should be done decently and in order. I Corinthians 14:40(ESV)
Let’s be honest, early mornings and children do not always go smoothly. If you add in a tired, irritable mom, you will have a disaster waiting to happen.
As soon as the alarm sounds, the clock is ticking. Precious time seems to slip away faster in that first hour of the day than any other time of my life. I attempt to set the alarm a little earlier, but I always end up making the same mistake of hitting snooze again. Disappointed in myself, I leap out of bed and begin my dash through the house waking up children, barking out orders and throwing together breakfast. By throwing together breakfast, I mean grabbing a granola bar or pop-tart out of the pantry.
I have hopes of providing a healthier option, but precious time slips away. I make coffee and guzzle down as much as possible thinking it will make me feel alert and refreshed. As I stroll past the bathroom, I realize someone forgot to flush, again, and I begin my crazy toilet cleaning frenzy. Will they ever learn to flush every time? As I lecture the children about wiping, flushing, hand washing and turning off lights, we are brushing hair, teeth and checking for clean underwear. We had planned to have a nice breakfast with Bible reading, prayer time and precious conversation, but time is up, and we are out the door.
While we do still have our share of chaotic mornings, there is one tip that has really helped transform our mornings from pop-tarts and poop filled toilets to a calmer version of crazy.
1. Plan ahead.
By “plan ahead” I mean think through your normal morning routine and everything that needs to be done before you jump into the chaos of school, work or play. Here are some things we do to cultivate calmer mornings:
*Pack lunches and put them in the refrigerator the night before. If you tend to forget lunches in the morning, put a sticky note on the door or car so you do not get to school without it.
*Pick out clothes from head to toe (socks, underwear, shoes, hair bows…everything!) the night before. It never fails, the one thing you forget to pick out, will be the one thing that is dirty or lost in the land of missing bobby pins and unmatched socks.
*Put backpacks in the trunk the night before (or by the front door). This simple tip has helped us complete all homework the night before and have everything in the backpack that will be needed for school the next day. Don’t forget gym clothes, permission slips and money for the fundraiser. Put it in the backpack and load it in the trunk. Do not leave papers unsigned or homework incomplete. If you homeschool, get everything prepared the night before.
*Make a menu for the week or month. If you know what you will make for dinner, it will make life much easier by taking this one simple stress out of your life. For some reason not knowing what I am going to feed my family sends us straight to Taco Bell or McDonald’s. When I have a menu we are less likely to run through the drive-thru.
*Buy groceries. You can make a menu, but if you don’t have the ingredients, trust me, you will end up at the drive-thru. I have a little experience in this area. Ha! When you know the kid’s meal special by day for every restaurant in your area, it might be time to make a menu and go grocery shopping.
*Pray! No, seriously. I am learning that if I put my “To-Do List” before the Lord, my time is used in a much wiser way than if I try to do it all on my own. Whether you adopt this entire list or just one point, most of all, ask God how you can best care for your family and have a calm start to the day. Prayer is essential!
Do we always have smooth mornings and singing children as we walk out the front door? Absolutely not. We have tears, melt downs and chaos just like anyone else, but we are doing the best we can by planning ahead. If you have some ideas of how to plan ahead to combat the chaos of those crazy mornings, I would love to hear from you. Join the conversation in the comments below!
Oh, and we implement family Bible time in the evenings most days. It just works best for our crew! What about you?
If this has been an encouragement or help to you, please LIKE, SHARE and COMMENT so others can be encouraged too!
Love & Blessings,
Micah
Is the car ride crazy? Fighting, arguing about what was left at home? Join me next week as we discuss “Cultivating Calmness on the Way to School.” Maybe your child rides the bus or stays home for school, these tips will apply to any car ride.
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I love this! I’m glad I’m not the only one who has had mornings like that! I’m pinning this on my “When You’re Overwhelmed” board on Pinterest. Great tips.
Happy Pinning! Thanks, Valerie!
Great tips, Micah! I like doing as much as I can the night before. Your post has highlighted for me the need to be more focused in prayer. I usually get my Bible reading done before my daughter wakes up, but I’m often distracted when I pray. There are often thoughts running through my head of the things I need to do. Thanks for the encouragement to make prayer a priority.
Shannon, I get distracted too! Getting up before the kids makes a big difference for me and when I see God answer I’m compelled to continue to seek His will and way. He figures things out much better than I can in all my crazy efforts!
I have to say, it’s hard for me to think of coffee as optional! Why is it that we so easily think of prayer as optional. Thanks for the encouragement.
I’m right there with you most days, but learning more and more how important prayer is.
Love this post! Such great suggestions for planning ahead to make mornings more peaceful. Many blessings to you and your sweet family!
Thanks, Beth!
aahhh, I do like my coffee of a morning – but you are so right – prayer is absolutely essential to setting the tone for the day. And having a plan in place ahead of time helps too. Thanks for the tips – I’m visiting from the Art of Home-Making blog hop today!
I love my coffee….every time I look at the graphic in this post I almost disagree with my self on the “optional” word, but then God pricks my heart once again and reminds me of His power. Nothing on earth can compare. As I guzzle down my second cup this morning I know I need to sit in God’s presence a while. Thanks for coming by, Linda!
Wonderful suggestions for us all, with or without kids :) , to make our mornings go more smoothly.
Oh good! :) thanks, Joanne!
Prep ahead. Yes, for sure this is a big key to survival and sanity.
Calm. I love that word. Morning, noon, nite, that’s where I want to be.
Bless you, girl!
Me too, Linda! Me too.
I so agree with you! I am not a morning person by nature, but I find that if I am up before the children and make prayer and Bible reading a priority, my day goes smoother and I am in a much better mood. I still haven’t quite gotten the hang of planning ahead the night before, but it is definitely something I have been considering for a while now, so I think I should just go ahead and do it. Especially on Sunday’s. It seems like we have the most hectic mornings when we are trying to get out the door to church on time. Thanks for sharing. I am glad I found you on the Teaching What is Good link-up.
Sundays are definitely a day the enemy seems to take a toll on many of us. Planning ahead definitely helps combat the chaos. I hope your mornings begin to go more smoothly as you prepare ahead of time.
Love this – prayer and preparation to have a better morning! Yes! Mornings are so crazy and stressful and I’ve been guilty of creating more chaos trying to get everything done. The mornings do go better, though, when I’ve first spent time with God (and also done that preparation the night before).
Definitely! It’s amazing what time with God will do to calm my spirit even if things do go crazy.
Hi Micah,
I’m your neighbor at Holley’s link-up today! Although I’m not a mom, I felt your frenzy in your post with such a crazy morning (and I’m such a cleaning fanatic, the toilet situation would have sent me overboard!) but your efforts at organizing your crew for the mornings is something I admire! (Maybe there’s a reason I’m still single?!) :) loved reading your thoughts today!
Haha! Valerie, you crack me up! Thanks for visiting me! I look forward to swinging by your blog later today! Blessings!
Good list, Micah! Our teen son has a “checklist” for his football gear that he goes over each morning. (Honestly, I think the coach has put the fear of God in this kid.) Routines work. Prayer too. (& you made me laugh with the clean undies. Ours is sniffing for deodorant. ;-)Visiting today via #tellHisstory.
Deodorant is coming soon to this crew haha! Good to hear from you, Kristi!
I really love to be efficient and so I love ideas on how to make things fun more smoothly. Sometimes, though, I get impatient because others are not contributing to the smoothness. I get flustered and annoyed, too. But I have done something similar to you – I pray and just ask God, “What’s the next thing I should do?” Sometimes it’s not the same thing I thought would lead to greater ease and efficiency, but it is always right.
Yes! Prayer and one thing at a time!
A little do ahead and a little prayer…I agree a much better morning.
Amen!
Micah, I am so glad I am not the only mom who goes through this struggle every single morning with the kids and hubby. Waking my hubby and 11 year old up is the biggest struggle in the mornings. It tends to be frustrating when mom is running around the house like a crazy woman trying to get a 4 year old, 2 year old and 11 month old ready and dad can’t get out of bed. I do get everything together the night before, but life is still busy in the mornings anyway. I am a full time working mom so I don’t have that free time during the day to get anything done. It can be overwhelming. Morning rush, work day rush, evening rush….NO FREE TIME! Even Sunday evenings is busy because I prep meals for the week.
Christina, I’ve done the work flow thing before. I feel your frustration. I’m so sorry for the busy schedule you hold. I’m finding more and more to say no to anything extra. Chaos so easily steps into the mundane routine. I hope you can a balance that works for your family. I’m sure you are doing a great job as mom, wife and caregiver! Keep up the good work, girl!