Q & A ~ Help For Rising Early

Dear Miss Sylvia,

I am so thankful that you have created this section here. I’ve been
struggling with staying on course in becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman. I’m
not an early bird, so waking up before anyone else is difficult for
me. I typically get up around 8am, by then my Dad has already left for
work. Thankfully my son, Mom, and teenage brother are still in bed,
but I feel as though I’m not trying hard enough. I realize that the
obvious answer to this is to go to bed early. Not a foreign concept to
me, I got use to it when I was working outside the home. But now I
can’t seem to stop at a decent time at night and get to bed before
1am. I’m really struggling with this and would love any advice or
encouragement.  Thank you and bless you!

Hi Amanda,
Thanks for writing to me.

It sounds as if you really do know what you need to do, you just are having a hard time getting your ducks in a row! You know, the only way I know to learn to get up in the morning is to just get up a little earlier every morning until you can stand it.   I guess everyone is a little different, but in general if you stay up late, your body is not going to like being awakened early.
So you have to train your body to recognize when its time to rise by getting in a habit of getting up earlier.

Once you have gotten up early, you’re probably going to be tired earlier in the evening and that will make it easier to go to sleep at a normal hour. The first few days can be tiring when you’re teaching yourself a new routine, but hang in there and don’t give up.
Experts say that it takes 21 days of repetition for something to become a habit.

When you arise in the morning, what helps you get going? A walk? A shower? Breakfast? go ahead and do what you need to do to wake up.  Then establish a morning routine. Wash your face and wake up. Get your personal grooming done, dress and put on shoes.  There is nothing like getting dressed and ready for the day to wake up both your mind and body. After you are awake you are ready to meet with the Lord for prayer and worship.

Always start your day by spending time with the Lord.  Spending time with Him early allows you to dedicate your day to Him and His work. It allows you to hear from Him and find the day’s priorities.
Spending time with God early will help you to put the day’s events in context with your relationship with God and it helps you to keep God at the center of your life instead of relegating Him to the sidelines of everything that happens during the day.

Establish a daily routine. If you have a routine that you follow daily, your body recognizes that routine after a while and it become easier for you to get moving.

Establish an evening routine that is conducive to a restful night of sleep. Don’t start projects that can’t be ended at bedtime. Keep the house quiet and peaceful in the evening. Make it your goal to be in bed by 10 pm.

I hope this helps you a little Amanda and gives you some encouragement and ideas for getting started earlier in the day.  I am preaching to myself here as well!  I am not a morning person and have had to implement all of these ideas to help myself create a habit of rising early and being productive.

In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation. Psalm 5:3