This Faith and Fitness Morning Routine Will Change Your Life

I’ve been big on morning routines for a few years now and I’ve written about mine at least once. My daughter’s schedule has changed, which means my morning routine had a chance to adapt. I like this one even more. It involves more faith, fewer steps, and more depth.

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My Morning Routine: Quiet Time, Coffee, and a Workout

I love a relaxed morning. I keep the lights to a minimum and spend time with God, coffee, and a workout app.

Make Coffee and Use a Prayer Journal

If I’m lucky, my husband already did the coffee step. If not, I grind my whole bean coffee (usually whatever the newest bag from Trade Coffee Co. is…I just let them choose for me and I’m rarely disappointed) and make a pot of it to drink black.

Sometimes I’ll put collagen (this one is my favorite) in it, but I haven’t been consistent with that lately.

I drink that while I fill in my prayer journal (I pray as I write my prayers on the pages). I use this one because I like that it’s undated and has room for tracking gratitude, prayers, acts of kindness, and gives me an opportunity to connect with God first thing in the morning and last thing at night.

I wrote a post on how to start a prayer journal, if you’re interested.

It also keeps the days from going by in a blur because when I wake up, I’m reminded to surrender the things that are on my heart and I have to pause at night to reflect on the day.

You don’t really need a guided prayer journal, but I feel like it holds me accountable more than just the average notebook would. I bought this book for this specific purpose. I have a stack of partially-used notebooks that don’t have an “official purpose” since they’re empty, and I don’t think I’d be nearly as committed to filling in every page in one of those.

Don’t Do This

Okay, at this point, I start checking blog stuff, email, etc., which I don’t recommend. It’s a habit I’m trying to break. Just being honest. But my prayer journal is in my office and the first place I sit down as part of my morning routine. I check these things right before I leave the room to go on to the next step, coffee in hand.

Continue with a Bible Study

I plop down on the couch in the living room and cover up with a heavy blanket. It’s not ideal, but I have my phone with me because that’s where I pull up the verses the Bible study wants me to refer to (ideally, I’d use one of my actual Bibles, since I have like six of them…this is also something I’m working on).

The Best Bible Studies for Women

I don’t always have a Bible study going, but the breaks I take from them aren’t very long. I might go a couple of weeks, tops, without one. Right now, I’m wrapping up An Unexplainable Life: Recovering the Wonder and Devotion of the Early Church by Erica Wiggenhorn. Here a few of my other favorites:

• Seamless by Angie Smith
• Experiencing God by Henry Blackaby
• Freefall to Fly by Rebekah Lyons
• Bible Studies for Life: Pressure Points by Chip Henderson
• The Battle Plan for Prayer by Stephen Kendrick and Alex Kendrick (I also highly recommend watching the movie, War Room! I don’t usually watch movies more than once, but I’ve watched this one three times.)

I call these the best Bible studies for women, but really, men will get a lot out of a lot of them, too.

At this point, if I didn’t get up especially early, I’ll take the last few gulps of my coffee and drive my daughter to school. If I did get up early enough or she’s out of school, I’ll go on to the fitness part of my morning.

Combining Faith and Fitness (Hydrate First!)

Technically, I should’ve had my water (with lemon and sometimes a pinch of pink sea salt, depending on how drained I feel) before the coffee, but it usually doesn’t happen until after the coffee. Priorities, I guess. Lol Anyway, I drink at least 16 oz. before starting my workout.

I’ll either walk (outside is great and I think it does a lot for warding off seasonal depression in the fall and even winter, if it’s not freezing and miserable) or use one of the best workout apps or programs (at least in my opinion):

• Bodylura by Anna Victoria (if you use my link, it’ll save you 25% off your first payment!)
• Alexia Clark’s subscription
• Madeline Moves (check it out here)
• SWEAT

Add Uplifting Music and Podcasts

Up until this month, I thought listening to Christian music, praise/worship music or podcasts while working out would be a little weird. Like the vibes wouldn’t match or something, I don’t know. Turns out, for me at least, faith and fitness go hand-in-hand and make for a great section of my morning routine.

Music

Alabaster Co. shared three Spotify playlists in a recent email (Create, Restore, and Reflect), though, and I clicked to check all of them out, then spontaneously decided to let one play in the background while I did my workout.

It cracked me open. The exertion and all the feels from that music led me to literal tears. I felt tears erupt in my soul where the pain I hadn’t been processing correctly could escape. I’m not just being dramatic, Lol, it was intense. Good thing I work out at home.

But then I stood up, lit up with joy and hope and confidence that everything would be okay because I am not in charge–God is. I felt stronger for having surrendered. Taller, without the weight I didn’t even realize I’d had on my shoulders.

Podcasts

If I’m just walking on the treadmill, I usually don’t listen to music. That’s usually my time for podcasts because I can afford to pay more attention to someone’s words–all of them–if I’m basically just walking in place, not dodging cars or following an app.

I just listen to whatever’s uplifting or informative (or both). It’s my “personal development” time, a carryover from my Beachbody coaching days. Good ones I’ve found:

• Church for Entrepreneurs
• Daily Grace
• The Ten Minute Bible Hour (this guy’s YouTube channel by the same name is amazing, as well!)
• Faith to Freedom
• Rhythms for Life
• Gospel in Life
• Elevation (I tend to watch the sermons on YouTube more, though)
• The Nicole Walters Podcast
• The Porch (I’ve actually heard this one mentioned several times lately but haven’t listened much yet)
• WHOA That’s Good Podcast

I’m limited to however long the podcast is, too, which is good. If I tried to sit and read to fulfill this goal for personal development, it’d be way too easy for me to lose track of time.

Journaling

This has been part of my morning routine for years. If I don’t get to do it for whatever reason, I can really tell (so can the other people in my house).

We spent some time at the hospital last year and I didn’t have a journal with me. When I got back home, it was so hard to get back into the habit even though it was one of the main things that would’ve allowed me to untangle my thoughts and feelings about the experience.

Why Journal in the Mornings?

The easiest answer? I get to start the day with a less cluttered brain.

Writing my thoughts down means I don’t have to keep them in my head and let them take up my energy during the day; I know I can always revisit the hard copy if I need to.

Not only does it help me get my own feelings and thoughts on paper in a way that just thinking, typing, and even mentioning a thing here and there out loud can’t, but I feel that it gives me a moment to listen for instructions for God. Writing by hand slows you way down.

You can learn so much if you just sit down and write before you start your day. It also makes me feel a lot more balanced going into the rest of the morning, like I can handle more without getting thrown off-kilter.

You can always add a nighttime journaling session, too, if you want to. It might even help you sleep better to get all your thoughts out on the page.

What NOT to Include in Your Morning Routine

What do you want to avoid making a morning habit? (And I’m talking to myself here, because I am definitely not perfect at it.)

• Checking your email
• Checking social media
• Comparison, which usually gets taken care of if you avoid social media
• Panic because you habitually sleep too late to do more than rush through getting ready and out the door
• Sugary foods
• NOT working in at least a few minutes of quiet time, even if you can’t sit and journal, do a Bible study, etc. In that case, just sit somewhere quiet and take a few deep breaths with your eyes closed. Invite God into those moments with you.
• NOT picturing how you want your day to go (I do this by reviewing my planner, but you could do it mentally, too…I’ve included a link to the 2020 version of the 2019-2020 planner I’m using, if you’re interested)

What Is Your Current Morning Routine?

Do you have a morning routine that works well for you? Are you planning to start one? Do you have one that isn’t working? What do you think you could change to make it better? Leave a comment and let me know!