A Day In My Life

Last week I wrote 5 Ways to Have a Good Day Everyday! You can read it HERE. I know some may wonder if it’s really possible, or how it even works practically on a day to day basis; And so, I wanted to share a day in my life and how I actually apply these 5 principles (GRATITUDE, PRAYER, BEING OTHERLY, SELF CARE, & AN ORGANIZED LIFE) to my day. Some days it’s easier than others, but these are principles that work. Welcome to a day in my life….

I woke up this morning and what may be surprising to some, I didn’t jump out of bed singing, “Oh what a beautiful morning! Oh, what a beautiful day!” (Anyone know what classic movie that song is from? It’s one of my faves!) No, I didn’t sing, because this morning, my body ached as I lifted out of bed. The responsibilities of the day began to flood my mind, threatening to overwhelm me. As I walk down the stairs to get some coffee, the enemy, as usual, is quick to greet me, hoping to set the tone of my day. He doesn’t say “Good Morning!” but instead starts whispering lies and negative thoughts to discourage me. I have come to recognize this tactic of his and know that I don’t want to go there with him, so I immediately tune him out. Sleepily, I make my coffee and find the familiar spot on my couch. I sit here every single morning with my coffee and Bible and enjoy the quiet while everyone else in the house is still asleep. It’s one of the reasons I get up at 6am every day. Sleeping later is nice, but this alone time in the morning for me, is vital to getting my day off to a good start!

Soon the coffee kicks in, and I’m less sleepy. I now do what I do every morning and it’s one of the most important things I can do to start my day – I practice GRATITUDE. I begin to thank God. I thank Him for His goodness in my life. I thank Him for the fresh breath of life He’s given me today. I thank Him for my health…for His peace, His strength and His supernatural grace in my life. By now, I’m wholeheartedly praising God, gratitude overflowing from my heart. Any negativity that tried to attach itself to me when I woke, begins to dissipate.

Now, with a grateful heart, I begin my daily devotional time; spending time with the Lord, reading my Bible, praying and listening to hear what the Holy Spirit wants to say to me. Do I always “feel” like doing this? Of course not. I love the Lord dearly, but well, my flesh can pester me sometimes and I start getting distracted by all I have to do, my mind struggles to stay focused or I’m feeling extra tired, just being honest here. BUT…I know I NEED this. I NEED to connect with God. I NEED to hear His voice and I NEED to receive a fresh infilling for my day. My relationship with the Lord is the most important thing in my life, so I make it a priority. I never end my quiet time with Him disappointed. HE is the BEST part of my day!

After this, I’m ready for some SELF CARE. I try and take moments of self-care throughout the day, but starting my day with exercise helps me to feel strong and energetic throughout my day. Again, do I always feel like it? No. But I’m always glad I did. I know it’s good for me and it helps keep those aches and pains at bay. As I go through my day, I continue to incorporate SELF CARE. It’s the little things that make my day good, peace-filled and able to enjoy the life God’s given me. If I feel overwhelmed, I take time for some deep breathing. Little things like a coffee break, with my favorite creamer make me happy. Water, water and more water keeps me hydrated and full of energy. At the end of the day, I’ll often take a walk with my hubby. I may go and pet my cows. If you don’t know what I mean, you can read about my cows HERE. Whatever it may be, I try to find joy in the simple things. If you find joy in the simple things, it won’t take much to make you smile and have a good day. The Lord can teach us how to do this.

After I exercise and get ready, it’s time to get to work! I have responsibilities…. I’m a wife, a mom, a homeschool teacher and I do a great deal of work to help my husband keep the ministry running. I have to juggle all of those things, and because I have a strong desire to do everything I do with excellence, I put my whole heart into each thing. I can easily work from 9am till 9pm with no break every single day, but I’ve realized while working hard is good, working smarter is even better! Writing a schedule with a task list is key to helping me balance all I need to do. An ORGANIZED LIFE is a productive life. I used to just start and end my day with a lot of frustration because so I was overwhelmed and many things were often left undone. My schedule and keeping things neat and organized around me, has helped my productivity tremendously. And to me a productive day is a good day!

As I go throughout my day, I pray A LOT. Did I say A LOT?? This is because PRAYER is my lifeline. I continually cast my cares upon Lord, I talk to Him constantly about what I’m thinking or feeling, I ask Him for direction throughout the day, and I’m continually listening for His small still voice to lead and guide me. It can be easy to fall into a rut of complaining or negativity. Talking to God regularly, helps keep my heart in check. My kids will often ask me throughout the day, “What did you say, Mom?” and my answer is usually, “I wasn’t talking to you, I was talking to God. 🙂

So, does the enemy ever throw wrenches in my day? Distract me? Discourage me? Of course! Do I ever start to slip into negativity that could lead me into a bad day? Of course! Having a good day doesn’t mean that everything is perfect. Life isn’t perfect. The thing I’ve learned though, is that I don’t have to stay in a negative place. I don’t have to let a negative circumstance ruin my whole day.  One day last week, I got some upsetting news early in the day. Boy, was it really eating me up inside. I had all these emotions. UGG!!!!  BUT…. I was committed to work through it and not allow it to ruin my day. Been there, done that, and don’t want to do it again! That morning, I did A LOT of talking to God. I did A LOT of casting down negative thoughts. I had an appointment to go to, and I decided to leave a little earlier so I could drive and pray some more beforehand. I had some worship music on, I was praying and talking to God and suddenly the Lord just began to speak to my heart. He gave me a whole new perspective and my heart began to settle. It was a WOW moment that only God could do. The circumstances didn’t change, but my attitude did, and I can honestly say it didn’t ruin my day. I was able to place it in God’s hands and know He would work it out.

When I got that bad news, I could have stayed in that negative, discouraged place and let what happened ruin my day and many days to come in fact. I could have withdrawn and become self-focused. After all, I’ve got my own problems, right?! Thankfully, I’ve learned that a self-centered life is an unhappy life. We weren’t created to live for ourselves. We miss out on the life God has for us when we do. BEING OTHERLY will transform the way we live. It opens us up to give and receive God’s love in a powerful way. When you make the choice to BE OTHERLY, it may start out as just something you do, but when you live like this on a regular basis, it becomes who you are. And let me share this with you…when God sees He can trust you to love and care for others with a pure heart, He will use you to touch the lives of others in a powerful way. Now THAT is a life worth living for sure!

As I drifted off to sleep last night, the Lord placed someone on my heart. I whispered a prayer and asked God how I could be used touch their lives with His love. In the morning, He not only revealed to me how, but He brought the face of another person before me and I knew He wanted me to reach out. Because I have allowed myself to be His vessel, He does this very often without me even asking, because He can trust me to respond. Pray and ask the Lord to give you His heart for people and show you how to BE OTHERLY. Even if you’re going through your own things, you can still love others with God’s love. There have been times I’ve been going through something really difficult and God will direct me to reach out to someone. In the natural I could be like, “Really God?? Now??? I’ve got my own problems!” But that’s just it… it’s when we operate in the supernatural that God really shows up. It’s not in our own strength or even with our own love, but with God’s grace and the love we’ve so freely received from Him, that we can pour out to others. This kind of life is a game changer. It will open you and others up to experience the supernatural touch of God in amazing ways.

My day is winding down now. My day was… Busy. Eventful. Productive…It was a GOOD day. Now I’m tired. My bed is calling me…. But I take a few more minutes to tell my family how much I love them, pray for my kids, say prayers for some loved ones and whisper thanks to God for giving me the grace for my day. I know that every day is a gift, challenges and all, and I thank God for it. Today was a good day! And I look forward to waking up and having another tomorrow!