Alarm Clocks And Coffee

     Alarm clocks and coffee! What more does a non-morning person need to conquer the morning?
     That would be the act of physically getting out of bed! Gah!
     My marriage mentor has suggested one simple challenge for this week, get out of bed one hour before everyone else. For my house that means 6AM. I know that is nothing for many people, but for this nine-hour-a-night, night owl, it goes against every fiber of my being! Don't get me wrong, I would love to be a morning person. The few occasions in my life when I have managed by some miracle to wrangle myself out of bed before sunrise, have been very pleasant and peaceful. I LOVE mornings! My body, however despises them!
     Last week as I tried this new exercise called, "making the bed" I realized how very sincerely I love to sleep. I'm in love with my bed! Maybe that's why I never made my bed? As I spread the sheets and soft blankets smoothly over the warm bed where my body had lay all night, I fantasized about crawling back in! I was like a cat with a warm basket of laundry in front of a sun filled window! It was so tempting! I was disturbed at how much I longed for it! Wow! Is my life that hard or am I just that lazy? I don't know. What I do know is that in bed there is peace and comfort and I LIKE that!
     So, when my mentor suggested the simple plan of waking an hour before the rest of the house to give my body time to come alive while I sip a cup of java and meditate on a Bible verse, I knew it was a marvelous plan even though it grated against my insides. I really wanted to scream and cry, "NOooooo!" I wanted to fight for my right to have that one little bit of pleasure! But, more than I want to be comfortable, I want to bring glory to God and be used of Him and I know that starting the day off right will contribute to just that.
    Last night at six PM I was on the phone with my sister, telling her my plan and I said, "Its six O'clock! I have to be awake in twelve hours! I need to get to bed!". I was only half joking and sadly we had plans for the evening. We did not get home until close to midnight and by the time I had a little down time, checked e-mails and shined my sink, it was 2AM! Still I got the coffee pot ready and set my alarm for six. The alarm woke me up and I lay in bed contemplating getting up. I wanted to get up and I wanted to sleep. As I debated I drifted back to sleep. Then I got a text message from my sister! Again I debated trying to find a snooze or set an alarm for seven or eight O'clock. That would at lease be a step in the right direction! In the middle of my debate I drifted back to sleep.  I woke at half past nine when I got a phone call!
     Alarm clocks and coffee are only helpful if you actually get. out. of. bed. Tomorrow is a new day! I will start planning for six AM now.