Hello Mornings, Hello Exercise

Goodbye summer snuggles. Hello early mornings ... 

Hello, 6 o'clock hour. Honestly, I'm not really that into you, but you've actually been good to me and for me this week.

It's true. I've been getting up before I have to get up. And it's been good. It's been an emotional week, but waking up 30-45 earlier than necessary to get kids ready for school has been good for my soul. I'm doing a Bible study on Ephesians with a small group that "meets" on Facebook each morning as we each begin our days.

So, yes, this is me saying I'm glad I signed up for The HelloMornings Challenge. Having a more regular time of study and prayer is one of my goals for this school year. The other is exercise.

First week in: I got up early all five days to read about Paul and his letter to the Ephesians. And I exercised three of the four days I had planned to either go to a class at a gym I'm considering joining or walk/run with a friend. And the only reason I cancelled my exercise plan on Monday was my son's emergency room visit on Sunday created some extra things for me to do to start my week.

I'd say that's a good start. 

And I'm glad I'm not doing it alone. For exercise accountability, I'm thankful for my friend's guest passes that have allowed me to try out this class and for my other friend's offer to meet at the park to walk and run. Admittedly, we both needed to talk Thursday about some things going on in our lives so we walked a few miles instead of picking up the pace to a run, but, still ... I'm developing a routine, which is what I needed.

For the Bible study, I'm making new friends online and joining two others {Kristen and Mel} I met through our God-sized Dream Team. I'm certain this Bible study will spill over into my everyday real life too.

Especially when I read words like this ...

"When I think of all this, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and earth. I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resources he will empower you with inner strength through his Spirit. Then Christ will make his home in your hearts as your truth in him. Your roots will grow down into God's love and keep you strong. And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high and how deep his love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God."

{Ephesians 3:14-19} 

What powerful words. And even more powerful is knowing God can transform us like that. For me, right now, it's helping me to set the alarm a little earlier and schedule exercise of some kind in my day. What happens during those times affects the rest of my day, my conversations and my relationships. Some mornings will be hard. I'll get distracted or feel defeated. But the next morning will come, and God's new mercies will be there.
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This post is linked up with other women who are sharing what they've learned this week in The HelloMornings Challenge. Want more stories? Like 152 Insights on Facebook. Follow me on Twitter and Instagram. Follow 152 Insights at Bloglovin'. Subscribe to receive "Insights in Your Inbox."