What is the first thing you do when you wake up everyday and what is the last thing you do before bed? Think about this...whatever is consuming your mind when you start your day will affect your mindset the rest of the day. On the other hand, whatever consumes your mind before you fall asleep might allow you to forget all all the things that God did for you that day.
One of the things I have been really intentional about is what I do when I wake up and when I go to sleep. I was beginning to discover that I was consumed by worldly things and that was affecting my entire day.
I had gotten in a habit of waking up and scrolling through social media every morning. As soon as I opened up Instagram my mind was already on other things. Those things my mind was now consumed with are things that I don't need to be thinking about in the morning.
I believe mornings are a time to wake up and be productive and really get your mind right for the day that lies ahead.
My morning routine looks a little bit like this:
6:10 - wakeup, take vitamins, brush my teeth and get in the shower by 6:30
6:50 - leave for Panera and FaceTime Rachel. Every morning on my way to work we FaceTime and pray about our day and for each other
7:10 - I read a devotional the Rachel and I are going through and I get in the word myself and prepare for the blog post I will write later in the day
7:40 - be at my desk, and begin the work day
It's not too crazy, but when I wake up I focus on getting my mind right for the day and in order for that to happen I spend time in the word and in prayer.
I encourage you to try it out sometime. Social media is a hard habit to break in the morning, but once you do, you will feel so much more free and ready for your day.
To be completely honest, what you do before you go to bed is just as, if not more important. I also used to lay in bed and scroll through social media every night before I went to bed. I would want to be asleep by 10:30 and after an hour of scrolling through social media it was already 11:30.
I have also really tried to be intentional with what I am doing before I go to sleep. Rather than scrolling through social media, Rachel and I talk about what we read in our bibles that day and pray before we go to bed.
Having the nightly routine I have, now allows me to feel confident about the day that I had when I lay my head on my pillow to go to sleep. Spending time in the word and talking about it before I go to sleep is just so powerful.
Going to sleep with my mind fixed on Jesus and waking up with my mind fixed on Jesus has really been powerful and changed my daily perspective and my life.
The key to all of this is just being disciplined. Do the little things on a daily basis and watch your life change. When I don't start my day with having Jesus time I feel like I can't function that day. It's like my entire day is thrown off. I can't go to sleep without talking about what I read in my bible that day and praying with Rachel.
It's powerful what can happen when you are committed and disciplined.
Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God. (2 Corinthians 7:1)
Purifying myself from things that contaminate my relationship with Christ means spending less time on social media. This could mean something totally different from you. There are just so many things on social media that I don't need to see. There are pictures on IG that aren't good for my mind, there are Tweets with content that make me cringe, etc. Good things can come about from social media but seeing a picture that some girl took at the beach just isn't good for my mind. I don't need any sort of thoughts or images like that it my mind.
In my intentionally I have come to learn that when you rid yourself of anything that might contaminate your mind, it is amazing how much more free you feel in mind, body, and spirit.
Purifying ourselves is a twofold action: turning away from sin, and turning toward God. When Paul wrote this he wasn't trying to make the Corinthians become sinless in this life. He was prodding them to work at maturing their faith. God provided them with everything and the resources that they needed, and Christ's Spirit would empower them to become Christlike.
My challenge to you is to turn away from sin and turn towards God and that might look different for everyone. For me, it's turning away from social media and using that time I would spend on there to turn to God.
Everyday when we wake up we are contaminated by the things of this world...what are you going to choose to do about it?
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