intentional mornings
Are your mornings hectic, chaotic, void of any reset time? While I still feel my mornings could be less hectic than they are, yet I have created a "best self" version of a morning routine that speaks to my visionary tendencies, need for quiet space, self care, and honoring the first of my day to spend time with Jesus.
Sounds like a lot, no? Having a morning routine was one of the habits I worked towards creating in 2017, and after a while, it turned into habit. My pastor did a teaching right before New Years on What's Most Important - and spoiler alert - it's 1) spending time with God 2) your husband 3) family... so while it looks like my focus is on #2 for 2018, I wanted to share what's been working for me in the mornings!
I was planning on writing this super intentional, almost spiritual blog post. However, I have had a DAY with the kids and I want the mamas of little ones to know that they are NOT alone in mornings that are chaotic at best, stressful most days, and that you are SO LUCKY if you get to drink a hot cup of coffee. So I scratched my first two paragraphs and started again.
HOWEVER - don't think you are doomed to succumb to the chaos and cold coffee. Know that you can set intentions amidst the chaos, amidst the mess, and learn to soak in the love - moment by moment.
So know before I lay this out, as a mom of a 2 year old and 3 year old, that this is my best case scenario and the general flow of my morning (ie don't feel guilty if you set something up for yourself and all the steps don't happen everyday). Also, I'm totally a list person and have been wanting to write out how I want my best morning to look - so this post is as much for me as it is for you!
The morning actually starts with the night before, setting up the coffee pot with some organic coffee we get from Costco or a bag of Guatemalan from Oceana and cleaning up the kitchen so I'm greeted with a fresh, clean kitchen and a hot pot of coffee in the morning.
my morning goes a bit like this: HYDRATE. NOURISH {MY SOUL}. NOURISH {MY MIND}. NOURISH {MY BODY}.
HYDRATE {AND COFFEE}
Hopefully I'll get back to the kids sleeping in a bit later in the mornings, but for now, I usually get up with or a few minutes before them. Literally at this point in their lives, if I get up, somehow they KNOW and they get right up. We are working on it ;) So, after tongue scraping (have you done this?! you'll love it!!) and brushing my teeth with my On Guard toothpaste, I clean out my s'well bottle (currently digging this one) and fill it up with cold filtered water and 2 drops of Lemon or Slim and Sassy essential oil, depending on which oil I'm feeling drawn to. Both oils sit in my kitchen windowsill for easy access to add to my water. Ideally, I'll drink that entire 17 oz of water before I start drinking my cup of coffee.
I'm digging a simple 1-2 tsp of kerrygold butter + 1 drop of peppermint EO mixed into my coffee. When I'm feeling fancy, I'll add 1/4 tsp of maca powder and a dash of cinnamon. If you're the type of person who drinks half a cup of coffee and toss the rest because it's cold (my husband gets so annoyed with me! hah), try mixing all of this into an extra swell bottle and shake it, and pour yourself half cups at a time. I find I go through less coffee this way, it stays the right temperature, and I can drink it at my own pace throughout the morning.
NOURISH {MY SOUL}
My pastor did a teaching right before New Years on What's Most Important - and spoiler alert - it's 1) spending time with God 2) your husband 3) family... so while it looks like my focus is on building positive habits around #2 for 2018, I feel like I learned a lot about how to structure my morning to get in my devotional and soul work in 2017. I sit in one of the same two places each morning - either on the porch if the weather is right, but mostly on my couch since it's usually so hot out, even at 6am.
Before sitting down, I'll choose an oil (or two or three) I feel drawn to before connecting in the Word. One of my favorites is Frankincense on my temples (to better connect with the divine), Balance on my feet (to keep me grounded), a swipe of peppermint or motivate behind my ears to get me excited for the day. Peppermint and wild orange in the diffuser is a great way to start the day uplifted and energized as well - there is a diffuser in the living room where I start the day!
I'll then open up my phone, turn it off airplane mode, and open up my devotional app, ignoring everything else. Remember, this is you creating your day, not responding to it. The First 5 app is my go-to devotional app - I adore how they teach an entire book of the bible, chapter by chapter, and relate it to the world today. I believe that TRUTH can be found in the Bible, and that learning what is actually written will prevent us from being misled by all the chaos and noise that is present in our day to day lives.
Then, I either journal about the message I'd just received, pray, or both. I have a prayer on Google docs that I will open on my phone and read through it.
I'll quickly cover a gratitude list in my Desire Map planner and list out or review my top 3 actions I need to do that day. This helps so that when I finally have a few minutes to work - I know exactly what I need to do!
NOURISH {MY BODY}
Breakfast, Lifelong Vitality Supplements, + CrossFit. Breakfast is usually two eggs, either topped with some avocado and salsa or Frank's hot sauce, and I've been loving the applegate sausage lately. The supplements are amazing and have completely upped my game in my daily health and wellness. I CrossFit typically 4-5 days a week, at either 8 or 9 am, depending on how the morning is going with the kids. They have childcare so not only do I love it, the kids get to spend an hour in the mornings with their friends!
So... tip #1: be flexible! Have a feeling you want to create and maybe some boxes to check, but be flexible with how that manifests. I used to wake up before the kids and have about an hour to myself, and Patrick would be at the 5am CrossFit class. It was glorious to sit by myself in my spot on the couch or on the porch, listening to the sounds of the morning and sit with my devotional. Over the last few months, however, I kept having to wake up earlier and earlier to get that time to myself in, and I'd get super upset and it would ruin my morning if Patrick didn't go to workout, if one of the kids woke up early, or if the dog needed to go out. Literally, Harlee and Declan kept waking up earlier and earlier, and my mindset was so off on how I was dealing with them "interrupting" my ideal mornings. So I quit waking up before them, and now I wake up with them. For now.
Tip #2: Start small!! This morning routine has been developed over YEARS and has had to be fluid as the kids get older. Choose one habit to focus on and do that. Once you've mastered that, add another.
I'd love to hear... what new habit will you be starting as you make strides towards your ideal morning?