Day 192- A Morning First

This morning, I started my day off with a 5 minute exercise routine for my "first."

It occurred to me that I could do other things for a morning "first." Things like

• Be glad it is time to wake up
• Wake up cheery and sunny
• Wake up feeling very well rested and like I don't need any more sleep
• Jump out of the bed and start singing

I think you get the idea.  I am not exactly a morning person.  Some people wake up all happy and thrilled to get the day started.  They feel as good as they will feel all day when they wake up.  I wish I was one of those people. I am not so I  just despise them; with Jesus love of course ;)

I was reading a while back in a book that suggested a 5 minute workout to start the day.  There have been times in my life when I would wake up and run 6 miles in the morning and nothing was even chasing me. I have exercised in the morning. It is hard to carve that kind of time out of a morning for most people. This book suggested that a 5 minute wake up would get you feeling better, improve your mood, kick-start your metabolism, and wake you up.  I wondered if this person ever heard of coffee.

Anyway, I did that this morning. There are a lot of these 5 minute exercise routines out there. The one I picked started off with 2 minutes of jumping jacks. The author said it's impossible to be depressed while jumping up and down.  I am not too sure about that.  After I had done approximately 349 jumping jacks, I looked at my clock and still had 43 seconds left.  I was nearing depression at that point.  Then you rest for a minute and do something else for 2 minutes.  There are lots of variations on this.

Not a bad idea to stretch just a bit (this is actually before my walk this afternoon and not this morning)

 

Stretching not trying to push the house down

Jumping Jacks 

How about playing video games on TV for exercise and wake-up

 The little 5 minute exercise routine did wake me up and get the old blood pumping a bit.  I did feel better.  Waking up better is something that I have been working on for a few years. I think it is a Biblical idea.  Read what the Bible says about the morning. 
Psalm 5:3- In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; In the morning I will order my prayer to You and eagerly watch.
Psalm 59:16- But as for me, I shall sing of Your strength; Yes, I shall joyfully sing of Your lovingkindness in the morning, For You have been my stronghold And a refuge in the day of my distress.
Psalm 143:8-Let me hear Your lovingkindness in the morning; For I trust in You; Teach me the way in which I should walk; For to You I lift up my soul.
Mark 1:35-In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.

Followers of Jesus need to start the day by renewing our relationship with Christ. Several things I have found to help are:

• Praying before I get out of bad
• Reciting Scripture memory verses when I first wake up
• Praying the Lord's prayer when I first wake up
• Saying Psalm 23 when I first wake up
• Thanking God for several things when I first wake up

I have tried all of those at one time or another, but not at the same time. I try to have some alone time with God in the morning reading the Bible and praying.  The idea is to read the Bible to get to know God better. Prayer is where we spend some praising and thanking God, confessing sin, and praying for ourselves and others. 

Let's try to start our day with Jesus.  You might even try jumping jacks with Jesus.

Jumping for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. The encouraging prayer group I was in on Wednesday night
2. Hickory trees
3. God wants to meet us in the morning