Morning Rituals

Do you have a morning ritual?  I suppose we all do.  Mine consists of hitting the snooze button a few dozen times, hiding my face from the daylight, and being dragged out of bed by an excited five year old! After a panicked glance at the clock, I limp to the bathroom where I get dressed, attempt to create something beautiful out of the massive bedhead that is my hair, put on a pile of makeup in a vain attempt to look well-rested, and finally put on some jewelry so I look a little bit put together.  It happens in the same order every single day.  Then I hobble down the stairs, still not awake, with my eyes glued open with mascara to make breakfast for my clan.  And then it's a mad dash to get everyone dressed and out the door for their respective activities.  Does this sound like you?  Oh, and there is coffee.  Lots of coffee.  Every step of the way, or I would still be in bed, smacking away at that awful snooze button.

But there is something missing from my morning ritual.  Did you catch it?  Instead of starting my day with the things that are most important, I am barely getting my day started at all.  It is an act of sheer will power just to get out of bed and get going.  Someway, somehow, I need to change that.  Part of what I need is more sleep and a better diet. But what I would really love is to start my day with some quiet time, some Bible reading, and some prayer and meditation.  I need to start my day off right so that I can help my family start their day off right.

I am guilty of spending far more time prepping the outside of me for the days events than I do even thinking about the inside of me.  Both parts of me are important - the inside and the outside.  I need to find the balance of making both the inside and the outside beautiful.  And somehow, someway, I want to make my morning rituals reflect that.  How about you?  What are your morning rituals?  Do they reflect everything you want them to reflect?