It's all because of the three books that I'm reading.
After reading through John Calvin's Institutes of the Christian Religion last year (starting and ending in October), I decided to read through a Puritan work each month (again, beginning and ending in October).
This month I'm reading The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes. Every morning I begin with a chapter. Each one is fairly short, not more than a handful of pages, but the book overflows with pastoral compassion and biblical encouragement. I feel nourished and spiritually enlivened after reading Sibbes.
The second book is The Valley of Vision, a book that is changing the way I pray, the way I think about Scripture, and the way I think about God. This is a collection of Puritan prayers. It's hard to describe unless you try its riches for yourself.
After my chapter of Sibbes, I read a few prayers from The Valley of Vision. Each prayer is only two pages long. Based on the art of the writing, the beauty of the theme, and the way my heart feels convicted and ashamed and yet overwhelmingly joyful, this has got to be the best book I've ever read.
Well, the best after the third book I read each morning - the Holy Bible, the perfect book. Right now I'm not doing a yearly Bible reading plan, so I'm free to settle in a smaller text and just soak it up. I've been in 1 Peter for over a week now, reading one chapter a day multiple times, thinking and praying about it.
The other thing I've started doing in the morning is not turning on my computer or my phone until I've finished reading. Usually that takes about 30-40 minutes after I've gotten up.
It's a little thing, but I feel its positive effects as I walk past my phone with my books. My days have never started off better.
And I'm not even a morning person!
How you begin each day shapes your outlook, your mood, and your attitude for the rest of the day. Don't you want to start off on the right foot?