Friday Favorites: Mornings

I know that many people will think I'm weird for saying this, but I love mornings! I'm a "morning person" so I wake up in a good mood (sometimes I have to quickly refocus my mind if I wake up anxious). I have energy and am most productive and creative in the morning/daytime hours. It's just how I'm wired. Don't hate me!

I love mornings because of the promise of a fresh start, new mercies (Lam. 3:22-23), yesterday is gone. I love the quiet of morning (because all the "night owls" are sleeping in) and the sweet times I have with the Lord and His Word.

I love morning walks and the coolness of the day and getting to see sunrises (the one below was taken on my walk a couple of weeks ago). I also love sunrises at the beach (second picture) and how the sun blushes through the clouds and brings light after the dark night.

I also love mornings because of breakfast. It could easily be my favorite meal of the day and I don't mind eating breakfast foods for dinner. Some of my favorite breakfasts are ones my mom makes:  poached egg on toast (she knows how to cook it exactly how I like it), pancakes made from scratch, waffles. Yum!

I think another reason I love mornings is because mornings were always family time for us when we were growing up. My dad often had meetings or work that kept him out later in the evenings, so breakfast was a time when we would all be together and would sit down together to start the day. My parents led in daily Bible readings and we read the names of missionaries with birthdays that day and then we'd pray together. I know that the way our family started each day made an impact on how the rest of the day went for us and it helped me to establish my own morning devotion time once I was at college.

One more note, I don't judge others for being not as chipper as I am in the mornings. I can respect the need for a slow wake-up process and the need for caffeine. We're all different. But I do recommend that if you've never been up to see a sunrise, put it on your "bucket list", set your alarm and grab a cup of coffee early one morning (hint: if you wait til later in the year, the sun rises later). You'll be glad you did and you can thank me later!