This morning when I got to my chair, I saw a chapter of my husband's new book, "Morning Momentum--How to Wake Up, Get Up, and Start your Day Right!" He had placed it there for editing, but instead it became a part of my devotional time with the Lord. I think you would enjoy a small paragraph that I found especially challenging as a busy mother.
"Giving God the 'first fruits' is the starting place for Biblical money management. But I believe it also applies to time management. As we discovered in the last chapter, seeking God is a 'big rock' that has to come first, or it never seems to fit in. As a rule, getting it in the soonest possible slot after you are dressed and alert is the best strategy.
Not giving Him the first fruits means we are leaving God our leftovers. Maybe you've had the experience of opening the refrigerator and seeing something green. The problem is it wasn't green when you put it in there. It is a leftover, and leftovers are never as good as first servings. Sometimes we even feed them to the dog.
Rising early to meet God may require sacrifice on your part. If it does, you will be in good company. King David, who wrote, "O God, thou art my God, early will I seek thee" also said he would not make an offering to the Lord "of that which cost me nothing." II Samuel 24:24 Surely God is pleased when we love Him enough to 'sacrifice' an extra hour of sleep to spend time with Him!"
You can also enjoy those early minutes with the Lord before so many other things begin clamoring for your time. The only way that I am able to get up early in the morning is to begin the evening before. After our evening meal, I begin planning for bedtime. What time do I need to get the children in bed so that I can get to bed on time? When do I need to start bedtime routines in order for this goal to be accomplished?
By purposely avoiding beginning late night projects or last minute shopping trips, I convey to the Lord that He is more important to me than anything else as I plan for my most important appointment of the day by beginning the evening before. Going to bed early does cost me something. It costs planning and arranging my day to fit in the most important events and leaving off everything else. It means choosing to not do some things in order to do the most important thing. It means that my whole day revolves around getting ready for that early time with God the next day and guarding it carefully so that it can happen. "Morning by morning new mercies I see--Great is thy Faithfulness!"
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