Do you have 15 minutes for joy? Please tell me you answered “Yes.” I hope you even answered “YES!” If not, that’s ok, we have to start somewhere right? I’ve mentioned before the impact Tommy Newberry’s book, The 4:8 Principle had on my life during a dark and trying season. I’m not sure though I’ve ever mentioned his follow-up book, 40 Days to Joy-Filled Life. I was flipping through this book recently thinking, “I need to go through this book again,” when page 22 stopped.me,
“If you invest just 15 minutes each morning in preparation for joy, it will add up to seven-and-a-half hours in the first thirty days alone and approximately ninety hours in a year. This is the Fifteen-Minute Miracle.”
–40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life
“Sign.Me.Up!” That was my initial thought. 15 minutes a day preparing for joy and in thirty days I’m already at seven-and-a-half hours? Yes Please! Other than the 15 minutes, you know what stood out to me? The word “Preparing.” 15 minutes preparing–not hoping for, chasing after or trying to figure out how. No, he said “Preparing.” The word prepare comes from the Latin, praeparāre to make ready beforehand, to get set. 15 minutes a day getting ready for joy; you get ready for something because it’s coming.
Minutes. Thanks be to God I’ve got those. We’ve all got minutes y’all. We just have to guard and protect them and put them to great use. Tommy states, “If you’re ever tempted to say that you don’t have time for this solitude with God, ask yourself bluntly, ‘What could I possibly do with that time that would bring me any greater benefit?'” Before we go on, ask yourself right now, “Do I have 15 minutes I am willing to commit to joy?” Let’s keep going. Oh wait, I should warn you, this 15 Minute Miracle–this should happen at the beginning of our day.
I know, I hear you mommas of small ones who won’t sleep or even smaller ones who spend their nights alternating between nursing and sleeping, feeding and sleeping. At the crack of dawn you’ve just finally settled in–I get it. I’ve been there seven times and/or the last 18 years. I also know, if I’m honest, I have 15 minutes in the morning. Maybe right before I try to slip out from under a finally sleeping child. Maybe right after my stealth like escape. How about when I’m brushing my teeth and thinking, “Look at those bags. You could totally legit be called a bag lady based on those under-eye circles. Circles? Spheres sounds so much more impressive!” Instead of going through my daily ritual of pointing out my flaws–looking in a mirror or not, what if I spent that time preparing myself for joy? Oh my gracious that sounds amazing! Almost like a miracle even.
Create a 15-Minute Miracle Morning
Tommy Newberry lists eight questions we need to ponder for some ideas to get our Miracle Morning going:
1. What could I read, watch, or listen to during the first 15 minutes I’m awake?
I’ve mentioned how careful I have to be about what I allow in my mind. This needs to start “open my eyes–first thing in the morning.” It’s much easier to block out things that will steal my joy than to have to chase them down in my mind and push-pull-drag them out.
2. What should I avoid reading, watching, or listening to?
Ahem, see above. What we take in, stays in. Be very careful in your choices.
3. How could I prepare myself for this early morning joy ritual the night before?
Well, if you have sleeping anything: husband, children or pets, you may need to get anything you need ready and in one place the night before. Your books, coffee cups, clothes, glasses, candles, anything. If your house is like mine, the more I move around–no matter how quietly, they sense I’m up.
4. What could I tell myself the instant I wake up every morning?
How about Psalm 118:24–“This is the day the Lord has made; I will rejoice and be glad in it.”
5. What should I avoid telling myself the instant I wake up?
How about, “I’m so tired.”
6. How could I intensify my gratitude in the first fifteen minutes of my morning?
I looked up synonyms for intensify: boost, deepen, enhance, increase, redouble, sharpen. When I saw those words, the first thing that came to mind was–write my gratitude list in the morning, in complete, descriptive sentences. Instead of “my husband” I could write, “I’m thankful for my husband’s strong hands.”
7. How could I use prayer and scripture?
Saying, “This is the day the Lord has made” is scripture and gratitude is prayer.
8. How could I use the 4:8 questions?
–What are 4 things I am grateful for right now?
–What are 4 of my most positive traits?
–What are 4 of my top achievements so far?
–Who are 4 people who love me the most?
I think those are pretty tough questions any time of the day, but especially in the morning! But I believe part of what makes them so tough is that we aren’t used to thinking about ourselves in a positive tense. Maybe I could easily manage the first and maybe the last one? But the two in between??? My positive traits and top achievements??? And maybe the fact that they are tough questions that require some thought are a good thing. I would much rather ponder and try to come up with my positive traits and top achievements than ruminate on my failures and all the things I don’t like about myself.
Look back over those questions. See number one and two? Tommy addresses them in Chapter 22, “We are Sponges.” “The soundest way to improve the quality of your life is to first improve the quality of your thinking.” If we begin with right thoughts first thing in the morning–we’ve already won the first battle of the day! “And the best way to improve the quality of your thinking is to keep vigilant watch over your heart.”
Really? Answer the question above. Are we as concerned with what we put into our mind as what we put into our mouth or on our body? Youch! I know right!? Think how careful we are or try to be about the food we eat. But are we as careful with the books we read, the television or movies we watch, the music we listen to, and the opinions of others we allow in our heart and mind?
Garbage in stays in unless we gather it all up and toss it out. There is no other way but an intentional heart and mind cleaning–a cleanse. I’ve never done a full-on body cleanse but they sure sound intense! It’s because it’s a process to clean out years of all the unhealthy stuff, stuff we may not have realized was bad for us. Same with our thoughts. It’s a process to get rid of all the thoughts, words, influences and opinions that have accumulated over the years. Just like our bodies didn’t change overnight neither did our minds.
15 Minutes a Day to Change My Life?
Yes, especially if it’s the first 15. I have prayed before, “Please fill me with Your good so there’s no room for the bad.” If we spend the first 15 minutes of our day filling ourselves up, where will we put the bad? Before you answer, remember this is a process. So the first day, maybe even the first week, maybe even the first six months–we will make room for the old, habitual thoughts–purely out of bad habit. And in order to make room for our old “friends,” we’ll have to kick some of our new and improved thinking out of the way–and kick we will. But let’s not give up! Joy-filled thinking is a habit. The more we do it, the better at it we’ll become. The more we prepare for joy, the easier it will be. The more we practice our 15 minute “Miracle Morning” the more we’ll want to ! Think of following this book, 40 Days to a Joy-Filled Life as building some positive muscle memory. It will happen, we just have to stick to it!
Claudia says
Our parish gives us a copy of the Advent Magnificat so this is what I am reading. I have always enjoyed it but I especially do during Lent and Advent.
Kaethe P says
Jenny, what you wrote set me up for a great day! My purse went off to work with my husband this morning, so I couldn’t run the errands I had planned, but that gave me a day to sit at the computer and tackle bills and the Christmas card list. Having started an evening gratitude journal at the start of the year and adopted a morning gratitude practice at the beginning of last month, I can absolutely attest to the difference in my attitude. Your post was the perfect reminder to see the positive in being “stuck” in the house!
Jenny says
Kaethe i would love to hear the difference between your evening and morning gratitude practices.
Kaethe P says
The evening journal is simply a mention of 4-5 things that went well that day, written in a “line a day” 5 year diary from Amazon.com. The morning practice is a more comprehensive one, started in a Mom’s gratitude journal I got as part of a bundle: it has “grateful for,” “praying for,” and a journal section each day. Check out hellomorning.com for a free similar printable.
Jenny says
Thank you Kaethe 🙂
Claudia says
That is so true Jenny! I used to be okay with watching movies that were violent, explicit, rude, you know the usual on TV. Since I made an effort to change the things I watch, now those things really bother me and have made me more aware of what I should stay away from.
Also, I love how you talk about those first 15 minutes, I used to spend them just sitting there feeding my little one and just thinking about my day, how tired I was and how I was going to get everything I had to do done. Since about two weeks ago I have instead prepared my stuff the night before so I can sit on the couch to feed my baby while I read and enjoy the Gospel of the day and read my daily devotional.
This is really a better way to start the day!
Jenny says
We sound so alike. I spent too many years not really thinking about what I was watching. I then spent a few years dealing/struggling with that accumulation of junk! What devotional are you enjoying right now?