Many of us found that the daily routines we had established in the spring, went out the window on Memorial day. Now that school is back in full swing, it may be wise to step back and assess your daily routines. In our family, we have found that developing morning and evening routines helps us be able to get up at a decent time without stressing over whether or not we have time to prepare for the day.

Why is preparing the night before and rising early in the morning so important?

1. The morning hours are the most profitable moments of the day. We are fresh and energized in the first hours. Many times, I find that I can accomplish more in the first couple of hours than in the rest of the day.

“He who runs from God in the morning will scarcely find Him the rest of the day.”—John Bunyan

“Early to bed and early to rise makes a man healthy, wealthy, and wise.”—Benjamin Franklin

“The sun has not caught me in bed in fifty years.”—Thomas Jefferson

2. It takes time to spiritually and mentally prepare for the day. Many of the successful people we are acquainted with don’t roll out of bed and stumble into the day. They rise early to get spiritually and mentally focused for what is ahead. We need to train ourselves and our children to do the same thing.

3. Personal quiet time with Christ can help maintain peace and harmony in the home. I can testify that without my morning and evening devotions, my flesh tends to be more prone to anger, selfishness, and frustration. If I don’t focus on the Lord first thing, I often lose sight of my mission as a husband, a father, and a teacher. Regarding our relationship with the Lord, Proverbs 3:6 reminds us, “In all thy ways acknowledge him.”

“Ever plan for yourself in simple dependence on God. It is nothing less than self-idolatry to conceive that we can carry on even the ordinary matters of the day without His counsel. He loves to be consulted. Consider no circumstance too clear to need His direction. In all thy ways, small as well as great; in all thy concerns, personal or relative; temporal or eternal, let Him be supreme. Who of us has not found the unspeakable ‘peace’ of bringing God matters too minute or individual to be entrusted to the most confidential ear?”—Charles Bridges

A “Night Before” Routine

First, you might determine what you want to include in your “night before” routine. For us, this includes bathing children and brushing their teeth; preparing our clothes, lunches, and book bags for the morning; and putting them to bed at about the same time each night. Before we put them to sleep, we usually read the Bible or a bedtime story together and pray with each child individually. We leave a water bottle in each of their rooms in case they get thirsty during the night.

If your child is having problems getting up in the morning, it may be the he is not going to bed early enough.

Simple Morning Routine (Sample)

“Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it.”—Proverbs 22:6

We are teaching our children disciplines that will stick with them for the rest of their lives. May we be faithful this fall to bring them up in the nurture of the Lord.