Good morning

Happy Weekend. I'm not traveling this weekend, which is a good thing because baby it's cold outside! Today's high is 33 degrees, which may sound toasty to some of you but to me, a southern beach town dweller, it feels like I woke in Norway this morning.

So I have a huge crock pot of veggie soup cooking. I'm doing laundry just to have any heat the dryer might leak. I'm tucked under a blanket in the recliner, treating the warmth from my laptop like a personal bonfire. And I'm sipping a mug of hot organic Caramel Apple flavor roobios tea while burning my Spice, Spice, Baby soy candle. Spicy scents and flavors make me feel warmer.

I'm sure at least one of you is laughing at what a cold weather wimp I am - probably one of my Alaska or Colorado readers. :) That's OK. I can take a little ribbing. I can even handle a little humiliation. It's cold that I can't deal with. You snow bunnies got any tips for staying warm?

Thanks to those who commented on last Friday's post, sharing their morning routines with me. Several of you talk to God first thing, before ever getting out of bed. I really like that idea, however, as I told you I'm not much of a morning person. The moment my eyes open in the morning, I have to force myself up out of the bed before I roll over, and fall back asleep in 4 seconds flat. (That, by the way, is one of my favorite things in the world to do. Falling back asleep I mean, not forcing myself up.)

So, my alarm clock is now on the other side of the room. And it is set to play a happy smooth jazz tune from one of my CDs as my wake up sound. I wash my face and then quickly head downstairs because the warm bed is like a giant magnet... attracting me ... pulling me ...

If its any season but winter, I can exercise in the morning - and once in a while I do - but in the winter, you can forgettabawtit! I really prefer to work out in the afternoon or evening. In fact, I'm at the gym at 9:00 pm at least once a week ... I am rarely there before 9 am.

Once downstairs, I head to the kitchen. My breakfast most days is a Snapple Green Tea (I like the mango flavor, but will drink the regular) and a Zone Perfect bar (chocolate mint or dark chocolate almond). If I eat most anything else for breakfast - cereal, muffins, etc. - it will only make we want to go back to bed. Which I've already established is something I have to work against.

Here is the new twist I've added to my morning this week. Either before or after my breakfast, I open all the blinds and stand in my big bay widow looking out on the sun-risen day. I drink in whatever is there - sunshine, rain, frost. And this is when I pray. I thank God for this day and tell Him I want to walk through every moment of it with Him. I ask Him for my daily bread and to be my portion for that day. I pray whatever else is on my heart - often for my husband, children, etc. It has become a special moment for me to do it while standing and literally facing the day. When the weather is warmer I plan to walk outside to do this.

Then I read from a devotion book and look up any verses in the day's entry. I know many of you use P31 daily online devotions and love them in your mornings. That's great! However, as senior editor of those devotions, I've already read, fine-tooth-combed, and reread every single one of them before they are posted, so they don't serve well as my morning devotional.

From there it depends on what my day holds - I open my laptop and check my Outlook calendar. I may need to jump in the shower to leave the house for something. If not, I may head to my desk and begin writing or working if I have a morning deadline to meet. I will likely check my email. Else I sit at a table or settle into my chair for more Bible study and reading time.

I like to light a candle and/or put Sunrise Earth on the TV when I do Bible reading - have you seen this show from the Discovery Network? Love it. I now have the DVDs, but it also comes on twice a morning where I live. Its just an hour of the sun rising somewhere beautiful in nature with the natural scenic sounds from the location.

So that's what my mornings tend to look like. Got any good devotional books to recommend to me?