Early to Rise

 wow I should do this more often

This is the thought that runs through my head when I am up about 6am being productive. I am throwing in a load of laundry, tidying up the downstairs, since the children didn't quite get to it the night before. I am enjoying the joyfulness of taking care of things. The children are still asleep. I am motivated to get things done because of the quiet and the less distracted moment of time. It feels so good.

The children get up one at a time and I can give them a simple breakfast. I am already down here, rather than my usual sending the older ones down to get things tended to breakfast wise. I see their faces as they peek around the banister
" morning mom"
"Good morning"
I have a smile waiting for them.

I have spent some quality time with the Lord.

And you know what, this is not a dream. It's reality. It happened this morning.

I don't do this often.
 Most days are like this:
 I creak my eyes open at 7 AM. I look at the time, knowing that soon I am going to get a knock on the door. I want to sleep, but I want to pray. I hate trying to pray with the door knocking so I better get up now. But I am dragging, maybe half of the time.
If this is a "good" morning I get an hour alone with my heavenly dad. Still I am tired. Other time I get 15 minutes and then the knocking begins. I've told them in the mornings they are to stay in their rooms until I invite them out. They are to pray if they are awake. They don't always listen. Especially the younger ones.
 I somehow hold them off until 8AM. They are hungry. I tell them they can go make bowls of cereal.   I prepare myself for spilled milk and wasted helpings. I grow annoyed at the thought. I am too tired to go down and supervise. I am intimidated by the toy and clothes I will meet in the hall way. I grimace at the thought of seeing my son's room, right across from mine, in disarray. This means the day will be spent talking and cleaning. I do not want to face that. Just yet. A few more minutes maybe?  I hope for the best.
 Finally I go down and sometimes things have run quite smoothly. My oldest daughter does well of taking charge and taking care. The baby is happily in his chair eating cereal. Sometimes I go down and the mess from the night before greets me loudly. I don't like to start the day trying to clean dishes just so we can eat breakfast, but many times that's the case. Not all the time. But many.
And then I'm like a locomotive when I start. We clean dishes, and the kitchen and the stove and the whole downstairs, and, hey since I'm here let me get this laundry, but wait you guys still have to eat....
At the end I'm over tired. I am spent from talking and delegating tasks and having to make sure they are done and done well, and responding with grace to the moans of the work load. It's 2PM where did the day go?

But when I rise early, my disposition is quite different. One hour makes such a huge difference. I have that quiet time before the children rise  to get some things done without tripping over them and being breathless from trying to guide them in actually helping.
I notice when I rise early I greet them with a smile as they arise. I am ready to meet the day, instead of the day meeting me, per Se.

I wrote a list yesterday that included me getting some energy back. Part of my solution was to go to bed early, and to rise early.
I know this may not work for all. I know this may not work for me all the time. New babies, for example may not like what I have in mind.
 But I have noticed the trend in my early risings. I like that start to my day, rather than my norm. I want to make peaceful risings my norm.

Early to bed and early to rise, make a man healthy, wealthy and wise- Benjamin Franklin

She gets up while it is still night;
she provides food for her family
- Proverbs 31:15 
She sets about her work vigorously;
her arms are strong for her tasks.
-Proverbs 31:15