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Creating a Morning Ritual | Simple Morning Rituals

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Having a good morning can set the tone for the entire day. Creating a morning ritual that brings you and your family a sense of peace, joy, and gives you energy to meet the day isn’t that hard. It just takes a little self discipline and a few little habits!
Creating a Morning Ritual @ AVirtuousWoman.org

With the changing of seasons, often comes a new routine. Have you thought about adding a new ritual to your morning routine?

“How precious are your thoughts about me, O God… And when I wake up, you are still with me!” Psalm 139: 17, 18

Creating a Morning Ritual

This year my newest morning ritual is walking down our mountain and back up again. I wear my favorite work out clothes, so I feel good, add some lip gloss, and pull my hair back. The walk is steep and exhilarating and totals about 1 mile round trip. I jog the first half and walk the second, but my goal is to be able to run all the way.

My girls enjoy jogging down to school with me, back packs in tote. And I am setting a good example of how they should care for their bodies as they become young women.

In the morning while the air is still crisp and smells so good, try taking a walk, breathing in deeply, working up a good sweat, and caring for your health, you heart, your body.

You might find it to be the most amazing time of your day, just as I have. When I arrive home, I feel ready to take on the day – no matter how tired I was when I rolled out of bed. My mind is clearer, I have more energy, and taking that cool shower after walking in the door is totally refreshing.

I have been really enjoying my mornings – more than ever.

At the beginning of the year, I made several commitments to myself regarding the morning hours. The first was to rise even earlier – I try to get up by 5:30 am each day. If I have a really late night, it is more like 6:00 or 6:30.

I wanted to have time to cook a good hot breakfast everyday. I light candles and sometimes play music or sing hymns while a busy myself.

As I have mentioned before, the thought of my nearly 18 year old son has sent me into “panic mode!” I keep thinking of all the things I wish I had done.

Now, don’t get me wrong, I have done many things over the years to create good memories – including cooking a lot of wonderful meals – often for breakfast. But my fall back in the mornings for years has been cold or hot cereal. It is healthy – not to mention quick and easy!

My dear son, James, however, hates cereal. Well, he loves grits, but other than that, the thought of oatmeal, Cheerios, or Cream of Wheat – he’d rather skip breakfast. So, I decided that a good hot breakfast that would make him happy 99% of the time was worth the extra effort.

My husband always talks with fondness of his dear grandmother, who I never met. She would rise up at 3:00 in the morning and make up a big batch of biscuits and she would sit there and wait.

When she heard some one stirring up above, she knew who it was from the location in the house and perhaps the time (she had 12 children) and she would put that person’s biscuit in the oven and maybe cook an egg or some other dish to go along with it so that as each person came done they were presented with a freshly baked, hot from the oven meal.

Now, I think she was an amazing woman! Most women think, “Who in their right mind would do that? It’s too much trouble!”

And perhaps it was a great sacrifice.

Who Would Go to All That Trouble?

But the answer to the question of “Who would go to all that trouble?” is: a woman who greatly loved her family.

She had a servant’s heart.

I admire her. I want to have that kind of spirit – the kind of love that Jesus came to share.

I have always loved making homemade biscuits, but on an average morning? It always seemed too much trouble. However, I realized, after having made biscuits several times a week for the last month, that it takes me less than 10 minutes to make my dough, pat it out, cut out the biscuits and clean up.

Then, it only takes 8 – 10 minutes to bake. While they are baking, I can make eggs, gravy, slice up fruit, etc. Total time for breakfast preparation before we eat: 20 minutes.

While the gravy simmers and the biscuits bake, I can wash my biscuit bowl, and other utensils. After we eat, it takes maybe 5 – 10 minutes to put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, wash the pans, and wipe down the counter, and sweep the floor.

Some of the breakfasts we have enjoyed: pancakes with fresh blueberries and/ or strawberries, breakfast burritos, oatmeal with strawberry muffins, biscuits with milk gravy, biscuits with southern tomato gravy, biscuits with gravy, biscuits with homemade jam and/ or syrup, and/ or honey.

I like to serve eggs on the side – scrambled or fried of in the form of a cheese omelet. The kids get what they get – I do try to make enough so that everyone is satisfied, but if they are still hungry there is always cold cereal.

Proverbs 31 tells us that a Godly woman “rises while it is yet night, and prepares food for her household.” I want to be that kind of woman. In so many homes, children wake up mommy and ask her for something to eat.

Believe me, waking up to a warm kitchen filled with delicious smells and tempting sights… so much more … homey.

I have asked myself, what is it I want my children to remember most about home when they are on their own? A picture of an exhausted mother, chaotic home, hurried meals, is not very pretty.

Thoughts of home should be filled with memories of good things, happy times, yummy meals, and the love of a mother whose joy it was to serve rather than be served.

How to Create a Morning Ritual

1. Choose two or three new ideas to add to your current morning routine that will bring you joy. So if your current morning routine has looked something like: wake up, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast, leave for work – you can add in a couple new rituals to your routine like: wake up, have a morning devotion while sipping herbal tea, shower, get dressed, eat breakfast and read a short devotion to the kids and have prayer, leave for work.

2. Creating a morning ritual that will become part of your lifestyle doesn’t happen over night. Anytime we are trying to build new habits, we want to start small. Only choose a few new things to add to your current routine until those become a habit and then you can add in more activities. If you have struggled in the past with maintain a routine or ritual, you will want to start will just a few little habits that you can add into your current routine until you become disciplined enough that they are truly habits.

3. Decide on the best time for you to wake up in the morning. In general I like to encourage women to wake up early. Of course, this is just a suggestion. Waking up early will help most of you get more done during the day. Even if you consider yourself a night person, I would bet that waking up a little earlier could mean you find the time you need to get more done, feel more productive, and meet the day with gusto.

4. Pray and ask God to help you wake up at the time that will best benefit you and your family. If you are struggling with self-discipline, ask him to give you a spirit of self-discipline and believe He is faithful to keep His Word. For help with cultivating a heart of self-discipline check out my online class, The Disciplined Homemaker.

5. Make a list you can check off each day as you build new rituals into your morning routine. Making a list can be super helpful for remembering to do what you want to get done. You might like to print out a fun planning page to list your rituals on like the Purpose 31 Daily Docket.

The Purpose 31 "This is the Day" - Daily Docket @ AVirtuousWoman.org

Ideas to add to Your Morning Ritual

Here are some other ideas for creating a morning ritual:

  1. Make Time for God.
  2. Wake up without waking up the kids.
  3. Sip some herbal tea.
  4. Light some candles in the kitchen early in the morning.
  5. Complete your Daily Tasks.
  6. Take a walk or exercise.
  7. Wake up with a smile.
  8. Eat breakfast together as a family.
  9. Enjoy a time of family worship.
  10. Review your plan of action in your Homemaking Planner.

In the Morning When I Rise… Give Me Jesus

6 Bible Verses for Your Morning Ritual

  1. “Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3
  2. “I am trusting you, O Lord, saying, ‘You are my God!’ My future is in your hands.” Psalm 31: 14, 15
  3. “Because of God’s tender mercy, the morning light from heaven is about to break upon us.” Luke 1:78
  4. “Let me hear of your unfailing love each morning, for I am trusting you.” Psalm 143:8
  5. “Plant your seed in the morning and keep busy all afternoon, for you don’t know if profit will come from one activity or another—or maybe both.” Ecclesiastes 11:6
  6. “Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.” Psalm 30:5

Free Printable Scripture Cards

Free Printable Scripture Cards: In the Morning @ AVirtuousWoman.org

How to Download

  1. Follow me on Instagram @purposenotperfection or @melissa.ringstaff.
  2. Download my free printable In the Morning Scripture Cards here.

12 Resources to Help You Start the Day Off Right

A few days ago I shared 10 Morning Hacks to Simplify Your Routine. The truth is, mornings can make or break your day. It’s important to start the day off right so you and your family members feel less stress and more joy. Plus, I have a free printable for you down below!

Action Steps to Take

  1. Decide on two or three things you’d like to add to your morning ritual time.
  2. Remember, it’s better to start slow and create good habits than to rush into a new routine and get discouraged.
  3. Decide what time you’d like to wake up to have time for your morning ritual.
  4. If you struggle with waking up early enough, pray and ask God to give you the discipline you need.
  5. Make a list to check off each day until your morning ritual becomes a part of your daily lifestyle.

Do you have a morning ritual or routine? How do you get your day started off right?

A Simple Morning Routine

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8 Comments

  1. Love your daily routine. I think I need a new one. Turning 60 the end of November and feeling old. Retired from teaching, got involved with volunteering at local hospital and gardening. Always have done herb gardening, but now doing more, but have less energy, so may have to cut back. Husband health issues do not allow him to do hardly anything. Frustrated. Travel plans didn't go as planned. Hooked on watching Conan, Letterman, and then Craig Ferguson and then to bed. Night owl I guess.
  2. I am enjoying reading some archived posts. Your advice is very sound, and strikes a deep chord within me. My biggest struggle is the fact that I work outside of the home, often 50-60 hours a week. I am making it a priority to cut those hours back, yet even with a 40 hour week, I struggle to get the home work completed. Additionally, I have some health issues that drain my stamina, which compound the problem of completion. So, I thank you for your example and encouragement, and I will continue to do what I can. ~t
    1. Hi Tamara and Melissa, I am 63 and I have a routine. My problem is I don't have the ambition to get it done. Health is fine. Waking is hard as the rainy season has come. I am a Master Gardener for Washington state but rain puts a damper on that too. Most days I go thru the motions with little excitement for it or the day. I keep looking for a blog for older women... I can not find one. I need encouragement for this time of life, my kids are gone, live hundreds of miles away... How do I stay involved and excited for life at this age? Help... Kathryn
  3. Good morning Im 55 years old with 4 children, full time employed. I have two adult children, 29 and 27 and then two teens, 17 soon to be 18 and a 16 year old son. Two girls and two boys with the girls being older. I have grandson, 4 Logan my oldest daughter's son. I wake up every morning to fix a hot breakfast for the family. I desire with my heart to do this every morning. My peers says, wow you're great for doing that. I'm unhappy with my current career. I work in corporate America and have my entire work life! I hate it and I'm ready to retire and start my own business and 501C3 for ministry work. My life has been hard because I haven't always had a relationship with Jesus Christ. I was raised in a small Baptist church but strayed away after high school. At the age of 50 I decided I needed change and I became saved, born again and filled with the Holy Spirit! I know if I was only saved at a younger age, my life would be so much different. At 55 we can retire early and I desire to retire this year but will I ? I'm not sure. I want to so much so I can fulfill my dream of owning a place to sell my food. But more importantly impart and advance the Kingdom into the lives of millions. I gone through so much these 5 years of salvation but I'm ready to say YES to God in all things he tells me to do. But with my full time job and a husband and still two teens at home I find myself so tired after work. I work 40 hours a week, M-F. I definitely need new morning rituals to start my day off. I definitely need to pray with children but I'm always rushing. So this has helped me to have an incentive to wake up earlier. My husband is not saved but just like me, baptised at a young age , brought up in church but has strayed away. He's a good husband but with submission to God he would be. Great! I must do better in speaking life and the Word in my children. God bless and thank you for this message of life.
  4. Melissa, I found your blog over at SDA Homeschooling Families. I don't know if you even still run your blog, or what, but I just read this post and found it to be encouraging. If you don't mind, I'd love to share a portion of this post on my Friday Friendship Feature tomorrow. I like to share an inspiring read on Fridays, and this surely fits the bill. If you still blog, please consider sharing old or new posts like this one on our Homestead Blog Hop, which I help to host. Wednesdays! https://www.ridgehavenhomestead.com/category/homestead-blog-hop/ Would love to have you!! Blessings, Laurie
    1. Hi Laurie! Yes, I still write here at A Virtuous Woman. I've been taking a short break this month but plan to get back to writing in July. I'd love to have you share! Thanks so much!

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