Potty Training and Jesus

Potty Lessons

Each time I potty train a child, it feels like the first time. As though I've never done it before, I don't know where to start, and I am terrified! Not so much terrified that my child will still need diapers in college, but terrified of all the hard work, the messes on floors, and the inevitable frustration that comes when a child just won't "get it."

But eventually, in spite of my complete lack of confidence, each child does reach a place of fairly consistent success. I don't want to get ahead of myself here, but there is a good chance we have found that joyous place with Malakai (2)!

He was awesome with the peeing in the toilet - virtually no accidents even from day 1. But the pooping thing - he was not getting it. Every single day I was greeted with the foreboding words, "Mama, I poop-ah in my undawayre." Then, to add to the adventure, Kai decided that it was probably easier on him if he simply whipped down his pants wherever he was to go pee (yard, basement, sister's bedroom, Grandma's house, trampoline, etc.). I do believe we mastered the willful urination on public property with a handy little happy-face/ sad-face system. Butt, the other end of things remained problematic (pun intended). That is, until yesterday. And again this morning - twice in a row. Successes in succession give a Mama hope!

So you're probably wondering what all this has to do with Jesus. While I know it's crazy to take a spiritual analogy from potty training, I just can't help myself!

Jesus Lessons

How to "train" ourselves for successful spiritual growth:

1. Keep practicing.
- In potty training and spiritual growth, the old saying is true, "practice makes perfect."

2. Rewards.
- Kai has a package full of matchbox cars on top of the refrigerator. In order to get a car, he first has to poop on the toilet. Just as Kai needs to do his job BEFORE he receives the reward, so too should we put our time with Jesus before the things we do for ourselves. (For me, I don't let myself sit down at the computer until I've had my quiet time.)

3. WANT it.
- Those of us who've been around children or parents have likely heard someone offer the following potty training wisdom, "He'll potty train when he's ready." Practicing and rewards will only get Kai so far; eventually he needs to go on the toilet because he wants to, because he knows it's best, and because it feels good. This will happen the more times he does it. At first our quiet time and Scripture memorization may feel like "hard work." We will need to try over and again to get it right. We will need to reward ourselves for doing well. But one day, we will find ourselves growing! Then we will WANT to have our time with Jesus, we will DESIRE to know His Word in our hearts, and doing things otherwise will feel unnatural.

You know what else potty training has to do with Jesus? It is only through Him that we parents find the strength to persevere through the puddles in every room of the house and the nasty underpants clean up to reach the finish line. Only through Him that we keep our sanity!

I press on toward the goal to win the prize... ~Philippians 3:14a

Random Excuses for Neglecting my Blog

- It has been warm and sunny. Given our long Alberta winters (and the fact that we had snow AGAIN just last week), I'd rather be sitting out in the sunshine.

- I have been earnestly seeking God in my mornings, but still sleeping in later than I'd like, so after my God time I have no blog time left.

- We have been RV shopping, both online and in person. I never realized what a stressful decision this would be!

- We have been busy moving a new (to us) play centre and playhouse into our yard, and then busy watching the kids make it worth every single penny. (I use the term "we" loosely. Several strong men did the heavy lifting, but I was a darn good supervisor!)

- My mom has been making me do yard work. (ugh)

- I spent the entire day yesterday having Bible study with friends followed by coffee with friends. We were having the best visit ever, and I even forgot to take Malakai home to nap!

- Pat and I have been completing application forms to go to Haiti with our "old" church (October, 2010).

- I've been planning our family getaway to beautiful British Columbia, researching things to do while we're there. And yes, I have been mapping out the drive and planning all of our stops. It's a disease!

- I have been enjoying some darn good reading:

* This Present Darkness (Frank Peretti) - For years, I have heard friends rave about this book. I avoided it, though, because I wasn't too sure how my imagination would handle a novel about the battle between the spiritual forces of good and evil (angels and demons). All I can say is WOW! What a fantastic story!

* If You Want to Walk on Water, You've Got to Get Out of the Boat (John Ortberg) - Another one I've been putting off, but was assigned to read for my BLAST course. I'm not finished yet, but Ortberg grabbed my attention from the first paragraph. What a call out for Christians to get moving in their faith!

* Take Three (Karen Kingsbury) - I have never read a Kingsbury novel that hasn't left me with a huge lump in my throat. Somehow she is able to weave together story after story of brokenness and reconciliation and make each one completely unique. I've been following the Baxter family for years (like my own little soap opera, but with God and without the mass adultery). I don't know what I'll do when/if the Baxter family stories end.

What have you been busy with in the past week or two?

How to Repair a Cracked Vase

The fall was a time of some major highs and lows in our family.

Pat gets offered a promotion - high.
We need to move - low.
Asking God to provide and seeing it happen - high.
Settling into new everything - low.
There were, of course, many others, but you get the picture.

Through the entire roller-coaster ride, we leaned hard on God. It was a new thing in our marriage - to pray together - but we pushed through our discomfort and did it, daily. Regardless of my emotions, I felt the presence of the Holy Spirit over every moment of every day.

We are settled into our new life and its routines. The kids seem to be comfortable at their new schools. We have decided to make our new church our "home" church. Along the way we've even had a few free moments to make some friends.

But there's an underlying sense of...something. Sadness? Emptiness? Unfulfilled-ness? (Yes, I do realize that's not a word!) There's this thing that's nagging at me. God feels far away. I know that He didn't take a step back from me, which means I'm the one that moved.

Last year (2009) I memorized 24 Scripture verses; this year, zilch. Last fall our family was a family of prayer - Pat and I prayed together, we prayed with the kids, we prayed with friends, we prayed over every single decision; this year, at least we still pray at mealtimes and bedtimes with the kids. Last year I committed to getting up at 5:30am for my quiet time with the Lord and I rarely missed a morning; this year I rise a little bit early on random days and try to squeeze in a few minutes. I used to be responsible for mentoring many other women in their walk with the Lord, and I took that calling seriously; without that level of accountability I have allowed myself to slack off.

Just as it is no surprise that I gained back all my lost weight when I decided to "take a break" from exercising and eating well, I shouldn't be surprised that taking a break from vital spiritual habits has placed distance between me and God.

So here I am, working to piece together the fragments of my faith. I am like a vase that developed a hairline crack, and as time wore on little shards of clay fell out here and there. Not broken, not destroyed, but fractured and in need of repair.

How to Repair a Cracked Vase:

Step one: Pick up the section of the vase that seems easiest to fit back into place. For me, this means returning to the basics of Scripture memory.

Step two: Be generous with the crazy glue and hold it there until it dries. I need to allow the Holy Spirit to do His work settling the Word of God in my heart and mind.

Repeat steps one and two until each segment and sliver of clay is picked up off the floor. A few of the larger chunks I can see are morning time, praise, and prayer. It's the smaller fragments, though, that will take great concentration to fit back into place. Things like a hunger for God's Word, peace in my soul, and sensing those little nudges from the Holy Spirit.

While the vase may never be restored to its original beauty, it will be whole again. The shadow of those cracked places will forever be a reminder of what caused the vase to crack and the hard work invested in its repair. And those cracks, they will serve to let the Light shine through a little bit more than it did before the fracture happened.

It's What You Do

I have seen examples in my children that the things I do hold much more weight with them than the things I say. Some instances are eye-opening and reveal to me changes I need to make (ie., when I hear my kids yelling at one another, I know that they are echoing my actions, and often my very words). This morning, though, I received the gift of seeing something I do right (not always, but apparently often enough that it's had an impact).

Wrapped in a blanket, cup of coffee in hand, Bible at one side and study book across my lap, I was having my morning quiet time. A little person emerged - far too early, in my opinion - and sat on the other couch. My little people know that mommy's quiet time is not to be interrupted, and that they must wait until I'm done or taking a break to ask me a question (and they must wait until I've moved to the office to blog before the TV gets turned on). For a minute or two, my child sat silently.

The next time I looked up, I noticed that the little person had sneaked away so quietly I hadn't noticed. I smiled, and assumed that there was some reading or colouring going on elsewhere in the house. Only a moment later, though, my offspring reappeared - plunked on the couch, opened up a children's Bible and one of my old Women of Faith study guides. Looking over, I noticed that the study guide was turned the the second chapter, and it appeared that chapter one had been completed in childish script.

Together, we spent the next half hour in silence, each completing our respective Bible studies.

When I Wander

I have sometimes heard - even been one of those who has said - when we are not walking in God's will for our lives, our ears become deaf to His voice. Somewhere, in the recesses of my mind, I have believed that God will not heed my prayers if I am knowingly in sin.

In the silent hour of this dark morning, though, I felt His presence.

And far, far away from His will is where I have been.

If our children are rebellious and disobedient, but they come to ask us for food, for a hug, to talk a minute - do we cross our arms and turn away, pretending as though we cannot hear their pleas? Of course not! If our love for our own children is too great to ignore them when they come to us, don't we know that our Father's love for us is that much greater?

For some weeks now - in spite of knowing the call on my life to commit each day to the Lord through prayer and praise, the reading of the Word, and listening for His voice - I have neglected my time of communion with Him. If His will for me is to spend time each morning in His presence, not doing so means that I am walking in sin. And yet, even in my sin, I hear His voice. Without a thought of repentance, continuing in my sin, I cry out to Him in prayer and sense His presence.

Though I have wandered, He comes with me. What a precious gift to find that I was wrong all along!

Humbled by His love and grace, my heart is turned. An extra hour of sleep no longer holds more appeal than communing with the God who loves me, hears me, and answers me - no matter how far I wander.

Call to Me and I will answer you... ~Jeremiah 33:3a

Pondering

I read some words this morning in my quiet time that brought tears to my eyes and a lump into my throat. They resonated with truth and made me feel so encouraged that I just had to share them. Both of these quotes are from Gary Thomas’s “Holy Available” (pp. 124-125).

“Have you ever realized that God purposely sets up our lives to reveal His glory? Speaking of one man’s healing, Jesus told His disciples, ‘This happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life. As long as it is day, we must do the work of him who sent me’ (John 9:3-4).”

One thing I noticed about this story when I looked it up in my Bible was that this man was blind from birth. He was blind forever, for his whole life. He suffered a long time. Yet God healed him at just the right time that would bring glory to His name. It makes me think of things in my life that seem to be constant battles, going on and on. And I feel encouraged knowing that when God’s hand of deliverance comes for those issues, it will be at just the right time to bring His Name glory.

“God has a purpose for you, and He’s working to make this purpose come true. And because it’s His purpose and because He’s doing it, it’s never in doubt. It’s going to happen. God knows that it is so.”

Just before this statement, the author has shared that God put on his heart a passion to write a certain book. He wrote this book and received, consecutively, 150 rejections before it was picked up for publication. And through the whole experience, he continued to feel God pushing him to pursue it. So he did. I know that I often feel God has put a dream in my heart for something, but the longer it takes the more I begin to question it. Was that dream really from God? Maybe I made it up in my own head. Perhaps it’s time to give up. For me, these words were a good and timely reminder to “stay the course” and trust that God will do His thing in His time.

I hope that something in these words gives you encouragement as well.

Morning Solitude

I've had a couple friends ask me how to start getting into the Word more regularly. I'm no expert, nor am I am shining example, but I do have some ideas that have worked for me (during those times that I am consistent).

Why do Bible reading, prayer, journaling, etc. in the mornings?

I don't know about you, but if there is something I NEED to get done, I have to plan to do it first thing in the morning. If I am in one of those phases where I'm trying to exercise regularly, I MUST do it in the morning. If it's housecleaning day, or laundry day, morning is the time to get it done. It seems that the more time I let pass, the easier it becomes to put off what's important until I eventually decide to take care of it...tomorrow.

Time can slip by so quickly in the early morning. If I allow myself to do anything before my time with God, I typically run out of time. It's easy to tell yourself, "I'll just unload the dishwasher. That will only take 2 minutes. Then I'll sit down with my Bible." But we all know how women are about multi-tasking! One small job leads to another, and before we know it half an hour has passed and life is upon us.

So, to prevent the stuff of life from distracting you from your good intentions to spend time with God daily, it needs to be the first thing you do each day.

What if I'm not a morning person? Or I just don't have time in the morning?

It's hard to change your regular routine! I suggest you start small. Set your alarm for just 15 minutes earlier in the morning. Once you sit in your quiet spot: pray for God to speak to you from His Word; read a short passage of Scripture (maybe just a couple verses); reflect on what they mean and how they can apply to you; then get ready for your day. After a week or two, set the alarm for another 15 minutes earlier.

When I first started getting up earlier in the morning, I found myself very tired throughout the day. Mid-afternoon would often find my nodding off or yawning uncontrollably. Some days I countered the tiredness with an afternoon cup of coffee, some days (rarely, ha) I would do a few minutes of exercise, other days (more often) I'd grab a power nap. By the time evening rolled along, I would have a second wind and end up staying up late, making the next day even more exhausting. But after about two weeks of this cycle, my body fought back! It is not often you will find me awake past 10pm on a weeknight these days. You also won't find me dozing off during my supper prep time anymore.

I'm so tired in the mornings that I'm not remembering anything I read.

Here are a few quick tips to make the most of your learning and retention from your Bible times...
- Always pray first, asking God to make His Word clear to you and asking Him to speak to you in your life from what you read.
- Read shorter passages and focus on them, rather than trying to read through several chapters at once. (Personally, I find that most of those 'read the Bible in a year' schedules have me reading far too much at once. Sure, I may have read through my whole Bible, but I haven't taken much of it to heart.)
- Write down a passage that really speaks to you on an index card. Carry it around with you and meditate on it throughout the day. Look at it when you're stopped at a red light, standing in a line, waiting on hold, taking your coffee or lunch break.
- Write in your Bible! Make notes beside passages that hold special meaning for you. These notes will not only help you remember what you've read and how it spoke to you, but they will hold special meaning to the people in your life who love you. I consider my Bible study notes to be a huge part of the legacy I will leave for my children. My hope is that seeing my faith walk, my joys and struggles, and my spiritual growth will inspire and encourage them as they walk with the Lord.

I want to read my whole Bible, but every time I get started I find myself bogged down in Numbers and I give up.

The best thing I ever did to read through my entire Bible is that I stopped trying to read it in order! The Old Testament (OT) stories are fascinating, but there are books of the Bible that sure do seem to take more effort to dig through. My system (though not necessarily the most theologically sound) is to read from the OT - a book, maybe two if they're shorter - then reward myself for the hard work and focus by reading a book from the New Testament (NT). To keep track of what I've read, I just check off the books in the Table of Contents of my Bible...next time through I turn the checks into Xs...next time I circle the Xs...

Some other ideas I've heard include reading a passage from an OT book and a passage from a NT book each day, progressing forward through each. Many of those 'read the Bible in a year' systems provide you with an order to follow. Or a new thing that I've heard a few people rave about is the Chronological Bible - the books of the Bible are rearranged so that everything flows in order chronologically.

The most important thing is to do what works for you! Personally, I like to have guidelines to follow. If you don't, just pick up your Bible and read, spend time in prayer, write out any thoughts you have, and go with the flow! Either way, God is pleased when we choose to spend time with Him each day. And life just makes more sense when each day is started being filled up. No, it's not perfect or easy, but there is a unique peace that fills our days when we start them out with God.

Replacing anger with thanksgiving

This past weekend was Thanksgiving here in Canada. As is typical for Thanksgiving weekend, I have been running through the list of all the things I am thankful for in my head. And somehow it felt hollow, forced.

I can list hundreds of things in my life that I am grateful for, but if I spend the rest of my week grouchy and irritable, the truth is that I'm actually ungrateful. Right?

So how can a person really celebrate Thanksgiving? As cheesy as it sounds, I think it comes down to having an attitude of gratefulness - which is reflected by joyfulness - throughout the year. A sense of joy in being alive, in our salvation, in our relationships, regardless of circumstances.

We might be running late for an appointment, the children might be misbehaving, I might be feeling annoyed... My typical response would be to bark orders, raise my voice, scowl and growl and rush everyone along. If I were to have thanksgiving in my heart, my response would be more patient, more gentle, less angry.

If a grateful heart is reflected by having joy and peace, does that mean anger comes from an attitude of ungratefulness? As I run my own words through my head (Why won't they listen to me? Obey me? Respect me? Can't I just have a few minutes of peace and quiet? I wish they would stop bickering all the time! They are making me crazy!) I hear the truth. It's all about me - what I want, expect, deserve. Wishing for more, better. Dissatisfied with what I have. Ungrateful. Unthankful. Angry.

It stands to reason, then, that by planting seeds of thanksgiving in my heart I will begin cultivating joy and peace. Replacing the angry with the joyful, with the thankful, with the grateful.

I'm off the spend a few quiet minutes with the Source of joy...

Morning Time Learning

Sin causes us to look at life through the lens of entitlement - that we deserve salvation without repentance, wealth without work, accolades without self-denial, health without personal discipline, pleasure without sacrifice. Biblical truth reminds us that, in reality, we deserve hell...

Every small laugh, each tiny expression of joy, a simple meal - any momentary reprieve from the ongoing agony of hell - truly is an undeserved gift. When we add the assurance that the completed work of Christ guards our eternity, our lives should radiate not merely joy (though there should be an abundance of that) but wonder and astonishment at how good God truly is.

~ Gary Thomas, Holy Available: what if holiness is about more than what we don't do?, pp. 58

Got busy?

Ever feel like you're simply too busy? Too much to do, not nearly enough time. Clean the house, cook the meals, help with homework, spend time with hubby, have coffee with friends, drive from here to there 40 times a week, take kids to soccer/ballet/art class, do ministry work, do service projects, go to Church, Bible study, life group...

It's weird, but I often go from one extreme to the other. One day I'm so busy I can't even think straight, the next day I'm bored out of my mind (not usually for lack of something to do so much as lack of motivation to do anything). When I'm sitting at either end of the spectrum one thing is consistent - I find excuses to skip out on my time with God. Too tired, too busy, I deserve a rest, taking the day off, other very important Godly things to take care of...

The funny thing is, any time I skip out, my whole day suffers. I feel either rushed or completely lacking in 'get up and go;' I am either frantic or frustrated; I feel angry, sad, cranky, lonely, irritated - all at the same time! I want to be left alone, but hate feeling isolated.

God has called me to spend time with Him each morning. (Morning might not be everyone's time, but I do know that He wants time from each of us, whether morning, evening, mid-day.) It seems counter-intuitive, but the days where I'm up at 6:00 or 6:30am are my best days. Even if I was up with a baby 14 times that night. Even if I have 6 million things to do, plus errands to run, plus misbehaving children. Although, I've even noticed that the kids' behavior is better on these days (or maybe it's just the mom's disposition).

* Here's a quote I read today that spoke to my heart:
It's so easy to be caught up with the busy things of life that we overlook tending our inner lives. Then we often find chaos in our heart and mind and wonder why God seems distant. During those times we will most likely find our Bible starting to gather dust. God's Word is nourishment for our souls. ~ Gail Rogers

It's crazy! I would never risk not eating the food my body needs for survival (and enjoyment, lol). I don't risk driving without my seatbelt (and my cell phone in case of emergency). I can't imagine hopping on a motorcycle without a helmet (okay, if you know me I know you're thinking, "come on, Tyler, you would never get on a motorcycle to begin with!" true). So why do I take risks with the very ESSENCE of my life?! Nothing is good without Christ at the heart of it. My best intentions at life - parenting, housekeeping, ministry - none of it is worth anything if I've done it on my own. My very soul cries out against it!

"Keep God's Word at the very core of your life. As a Christian you simply cannot risk living otherwise." ~ Gail Rogers

* This is an archived post from January, 2008.

Parched without Prayer

Why am I ignoring His call?

Morning by morning, 5:30 am the alarm clock sings out country music, and I hear Him invite me.

Yet I roll over, hitting snooze again and again, telling Him, "Later, Jesus. Soon. Just a few more minutes of sleep."

Yesterday Shea (4) came to me with tears in her eyes. No one would play with her, would I? The temptation to put her off was strong - laundry, dinner prep, budgeting, and a million other household tasks called my name. But in my mind's eye I saw her face crumpling as she received another rejection. So I turned my eyes from the mess and sat at the table in front of the Yahtzee board.

Her face lit up, glowing with joy and excitement. Once she knew she had my attention she chattered and giggled, taking deep gasping breaths between word-full sentences.

If I were to heed that early morning call to communion, would it light His face? Would He grab the opportunity and pour out His Words into my heart?

When I put Him off, does His face fall like a child who's been turned away?

When I say "not now," I am telling Him that filling my body with sleep is more important than filling my soul with Him. Oh, how wrong that is! Sleep - my body can live with less. But Jesus - my soul cannot live without.

Without Him, my soul dries out, parches, it cries out in thirst. The longer I leave my soul in such a state, the more withered it becomes. Eventually, the dryness will feel normal and the thirst will be dulled. Until the lack of moisture leaves gaping cracks - broken places.

Lord, forgive me for thinking so much of myself that I begin to believe I can afford to postpone my time in Your Presence. Tomorrow morning, and each morning after, give me an unquenchable thirst for Jesus when that alarm clock sounds. I don't want to become a withered old soul! Abba Daddy, I love you. YOU are more important than anything - including sleep. Draw me closer...

Reflections on Obedience

As I begin my third week of fasting from fast food/junk food/processed food, I carry a bag of mixed emotions. The first week was surprisingly easy, the second more difficult than I had ever imagined, so what will week three bring?

In some ways, I feel as though I'm not depriving myself enough. Most days I feel full from feasting on veggies. Last night I had margarine on a bowl of popcorn. I am following the Canada Food Guide, which is what I believe the Lord asked of me, but I sometimes wonder if I'm not suffering enough for His name.

In my heart, I had committed to praying for two specific things whenever I was struggling with thinking about food. I envisioned myself on my knees for long stretches of time each day. But I am finding that when a craving for junk overwhelms me, I cry out for help and pray a quick prayer for each of those two things, and I move on.

Guilt. That's what I'm feeling. Why?

I absolutely believe I have been obedient these last two weeks. If a food crosses my path that I'm unsure of, I ask God before I touch it. He's told me both yes and no several times. I am fully committed to this fast, and thoughts of "cheating" in any way are momentary and fleeting - because I know the harm my disobedience could have to our relationship.

This morning, though, and virtually every morning for the past month, I have been pressing the snooze button on my alarm - repeatedly. Some days I still manage to be up before the kids and get some quiet time in, but many days I have been offering an abbreviated prayer and a quick glance in the Word before the distractions of my day take over my mind. Yet I know that the Lord called me to be up at 5:30am with Him every day. I've been putting off my daily time for my daily bread.

I haven't done any writing on my book since She Speaks - just the revisions I needed to make to my proposal in order to email it in. I believe that God showed me some "margin" in my life that I could be using to write a couple times per week, but I have instead been using those few hours each week to mindlessly surf on facebook or read a novel. I've been delaying in taking the next step in my writing.

If I went on to list all the areas in my life that Jesus has called me to make changes in - things that I have been putting off - blogger would probably cut my post off halfway through! I recently read that delayed obedience is disobedience. So though I am being obedient in this one thing, with so many other areas of disobedience in my life, no wonder I feel guilty. As much as I'd like to believe it, giving part of my life to Jesus just isn't enough for Him.

Even as I write this, I feel my heart going astray... I think to myself, in September, once school's started, I will get obedient in all these things. More delay. What a mess I am!

On a side note, a number of people have asked if I am seeing results from this fast...

I think that my pants are buttoning a little easier. There is still a big muffin top spilling over, but the tightness of the waist is not causing pain or discomfort. Then again, I think most of my pants are on day 2 or 3 of wear; the true test will be freshly laundered jeans. I'm still experiencing some of the unpleasant symptoms of being overweight, though, such as back aches and heartburn. As for weight, I have no idea. God was pretty clear with me that I was prone to take my motivation (and discouragement) from the numbers on the scale. But He wants His pleasure at my obedience to be my only motivator. So my scale and I are "on a break" from each other for these 40 days. How's that for a complete non-answer?!

WFMW - Morning Time with God

I recently had a friend pose the following question to me: I think God has been telling me to spend more time with Him but I still don't know how. I want that deep relationship - but I don't do what I need to do to get it. When can I carve out the time?

A few months ago, I asked God that very question. How can I find the time to spend with You? Over the next week I came across The 5:16 Club, and The 5:00 Club, and How to Become an Early Riser, and HTBAER part 2, and Proverbs 31:15, and Mark 1:35... Oddly, Pat even came to me during this same week to tell me that he had committed to getting up at 5:30am to exercise and have some Bible time.

So to the question of carving out time to spend with the Lord, the answer is to get up earlier. I realize that this sounds overly simplistic; it is very difficult to change your entire routine (trust me, I find it difficult every morning!). Here are my suggestions on how to make the change:

1. Tell someone what you want to do, ask them to pray for you regularly, and ask them to periodically ask you how you're doing. My friend Christine, when I was first developing the discipline of rising early (which was 6:30am back then), used to wake around 6:15 every day and pray for me to get up. (I know what you're thinking, you don't know anyone who would get up so darn early for you. Well, it wasn't something I asked her to do. And it wasn't even something she wanted to do. But like clockwork, God woke her up at that time, and as soon as she prayed for me she fell back into a sound sleep for another hour or so.)

2. Pick a time of the morning, set your alarm, and get up at that time - every day - for 3-4 weeks (yes, even weekends). Yes - you will be tired! But in letting your body get tired, it will begin to direct you to going to sleep earlier. Or it might just adapt to less sleep. And feel free to grab a little cat nap every now and then (just make sure you don't sleep so long that you can't sleep at night). Once the habit is ingrained, you will be able to sleep in on Saturdays without making the early rising more difficult.

I followed Steve Pavlina's method outlined in his two-part series (linked above), with some modifications that worked for me. Basically, though, it's all about practice and self-discipline (he's got a six-part series on self-discipline that I found helpful). Just a note: Steve Pavlina is not a Christian, and in his blog you will come across certain beliefs and/or practices that do not "fit" with my faith - I am not promoting everything he says or does, but I did find his suggestions about getting up early incredibly helpful.

For other ideas on making your time with God each morning productive, check out this post.

The most important thing to remember: don't give up! I can't tell you how many times I give in and smack that snooze button. But with God's help, we can all make changes in our lives that will bring us closer to Him. If He can deliver drug addicts, raise the dead, save the lives of babies in the NICU, surely He can do a little thing like help us get up earlier!

I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.
~Philippians 4:13

For more Works for Me Wednesday posts, visit We Are THAT Family.