How do you start your day?  How do you end your day?  What is your routine?  What is the first thing you see when you open your eyes to begin the day before you? The day that is truly a gift.

I want to introduce a concept I have been working on and I would love to hear your feedback.  it seems to align itself well with #WINtheNOW, which, if you have spent any time with me in person or online, you know it is kind of my thing.

Do you find yourself in a rut?  If not now, I am sure the concept is familiar.  One of those seasons we feel stuck.  Unable to gather any momentum.  Spinning our wheels.  Sound familiar to anyone?  In a recent season of being stuck, I tried to break down what a day looks like and see if there was any room for improvement.  A few things landed.  One is that I spend too much time on my phone.  No surprise there.  Another was how my day began and ended.

As a new day began, my phone was right by my side.  It was my alarm clock.  And it was the first thing I looked at.  I checked social media, the local news, the weather, and more social media, and email.  The bedtime routine didn’t look much different, except I found myself lingering longer, intruding on one of our most precious resources, sleep.  Something had to give.

First of all, the phone left the bedroom.  I know that isn’t practical for everyone, but I needed it. If you can’t be without it, at least silence it and put it down!   If it’s there, I use it.  I purchased a vibrating alarm clock for about ten bucks.  So I am covered.  And a new commitment was made to welcome the day with a prayer that goes something like this- “Father God, I thank you for this day full of countless opportunities.  would you show me the ways I can partner with you to impact your kingdom.”  And then I would lay in bed until I believed that prayer.  At night, the phone has been replaced with the Bible.  And a quick Psalm before bed has made a huge difference.  If the last thing I see before I go to sleep is truth, my night is less likely to be restless.

You see, the way we start and end our day has profound effects on the trajectory of our day and our sleep.  I start and end mine with Jesus.  But however you choose to do it, just remember, whatever is first in and last in has a tremendous effect on our day and our sleep.

You can choose to look at whatever you want, but wouldn’t it be great if there was a better way?  I hope you all have an amazing week!

And yes, that bed was uncomfortable.  And no, it is not my normal bed!  Sometimes you get what you get on a mission trip!

#firstinlastin #WINtheNOW