I didn’t realize moving from being a ‘natural riser’ to an ‘alarm clock’ riser would be so difficult. There were a few mornings that all I wanted to do was to turn off the alarm and get back into bed. God enabled me to overcome that temptation. It had to be God because every fiber of my being was crying out to get back into that nice, warm, comfortable bed.

Days 4, 5 and 6 were the hardest (so far). Today is day 7 and it is a Saturday. I usually sleep in on Saturday but everything that I’ve read pointed out the importance of keeping a consistent schedule so I’m trying to stick to it. Monday (day 9) will be a holiday so it will, again, be though for me to be consistent.

Why do this? Well, there are more interesting things to do in the morning. If I am able to consistently get up, then I will be able to consistently pray and read scripture each day. Before, if I slept in, my prayer time would either get limited, or I would pray instead of doing other things. Getting up early helps me get focused and use the day wisely.

When I stay up late, I would just waste my time watching TV. Even though I would tell myself I should pray and read, I would be too tired to do any of it. Now, I find myself wanting to go to bed at 10 pm – 11 pm (last night I went to bed at 10:30 pm…and it was a Friday!).

I should probably articulate that so far I am not missing my late nights at all. Getting up early has been a true joy (even though it has been hard at times).