5 O'Clock Club Wrap Up

Today is February 28th... which is the last day of February... which means its the last day of the 5 O'Clock challenge. Wow, that went quick! I am so glad I did this (special thanks to Cheye for letting me know about it), and overall it has been a blessing!

How did I do this last week? Not so hot. I struggled to get up everyday. I still had time with the Lord everyday but one, however I had to make other sacrifices in the morning to get there (so I wasnt the most put together person, our lunches were rather thrown together, and I missed my workout a few times). I really want to keep this habit going, so some of us have joined The J Club to challenge each other to keep it up! If you are struggling with consistent time with the Lord and want someone to come alongside and spur you on, come on over and join us!

So long 5 O'Clock club, you were great while you lasted!

How did the rest of you do this week?

J is for Join!

Well, as many of you know, I joined a club this past month. And as crazy as it sounds, February is almost over! I have loved the benefits of getting up earlier so much that I hate to see it come to an end. I know what you are thinking, "Sabrina just keep getting up early!". But I think the reason I have been successful with this the last month is the accountability and group synergy I felt when I knew others were doing it too. It was good to see others eagerness to set aside the time, and it was encouraging to see I was not the only one who struggles with this. I found it refreshing to hear what others were learning and I was motivated by posting the check in's. Basically, it worked for me.

So I have been asking myself what I need to do about this, and here is my proposal- let's start our own club! I am officially starting "The J Club".

• What: An accountability group
• Who can join: Anyone willing to commit to a set time with Jesus daily. **Even those of you who dont have your own blog!**
• How to join: Comment below leaving your email address for me. I will set you up as a blog author on The J Club Blog. 
• What will it consist of: 
• You committing to specific time each day to hang out with the Lord. This can be morning or night, whatever works for you. 
• You posting on our club blog about how it is going at least once a week (but more if you want) and something you are learning or struggling with. 
• You reading the blog and supporting/ holding the other members accountable to persevering on. 

So who is in??? Come on people,

"let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. And let us consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching."(Hebrews 10: 22-25)

Wake up in the morning feeling like...

So I didn't get around to giving an update this weekend on how this whole 5 o'clock club thing is going. Did you think I just gave it up? Was I avoiding you?

How is it going? Very well, thanks for asking. Although I feel like there is less chatter going on with my girls who decided to join too, I am still really enjoying this challenge. Last week I got up everyday but one. And today I totally didnt get up, but I am just feeling yucky! Anyhow, here are some things I am realizing:

• Getting up early is so an issue of the mind, not the body, usually. If I can resolve my mind to get up, I realize my body has gotten plenty of rest.
• It is so much easier to focus on the Lord when the world is quiet. This means when we wake up during the "early" hours for our society, there just wont be as many distractions. There are not as many cars driving by, not as much light, not anything to watch on tv and distract you, etc. On Saturday I got up early, but not as early as the rest of the week. What I noticed is that it was harder to focus because it was "daytime" in my mind. I could be doing housework.... but in the dark hours of morning I find I am not lured by my dishes.
• The Lord really does give us the power to do all things through Him. Each night I have been begging the Lord to wake me and not let me miss the special time with Him, literally begging until I drift to sleep. People, though I am a morning person, I am not an easy riser. Duke can attest- I love to hit snooze for an hour. This rising early is only by His grace. And it has been neat to see this.
• Memorizing Scripture is not as daunting as I have made it in the past.
• Prayer is an amazingly magical thing that I just cant describe. I mean on the simplest level it is me talking in my head (or out loud). But somehow that same simple act becomes the most amazing soul transforming thing!

So I am loving that I was motivated to start this habit. And I am praying it will just be a habit from now on. Anyone with me? Want to start our own "Something o'clock club" and hold one another accountable in life. I say something o'clock because it is so not about the time of day, but the time spent. Let me know!

So how has your time with the Lord been?

Hello alarm clock

Hello alarm clock, I'm so glad to see you again....

NOT!

This week I joined the 5 O'Clock Club, and it has not been nearly as bad as I envisioned. Overall I have loved loved loved having extra time in the morning to linger in the Word, pray harder, and even just gather my thoughts for the day before I have to head out into the real world. Here is how the week went:

• Monday- The club had not started yet. I got up later than I wanted to and was in a rush all morning. There was still snow on the ground and I almost feel about ten times going to work. It was cold. Ugh. My time with the Lord got thrown out the window, in an attempt to get ready for work. It is no surprise to me that when I saw Cheye's post that night I jumped on board real fast.

• Tuesday- First day of the club! Mr.Pate had to open at Starbucks, which means he left the house at 4:45am, and awoke at like 4am (insane I know, but people have to have their coffee). So he woke me up at 4:45am and I made sure the alarm was good for 5am. Surprisingly I got right up at 5am without a problem, I am guessing it was like awaking on the first day of school or Christmas morning- you are too excited to sleep. Anyhow, it was absolutely amazing to have all that time! I started the coffee, made my lunch and packed my bag for the gym because I was intending to leave the house at 5:50 to head to Preston. I fed the starving animals (gosh they cry like babies in the morning and follow me everywhere until I feed them!) and then settled onto my barstool. All was quiet. It was a great time with the Lord. After my quiet time, I got up and began to put together my dinner (crock pot). This is where this morning got crazy but whatever. I cook in my crock pot all the stinkin time. I love coming home to dinner already made. I always put my meat into the crock pot frozen, because I am gone for so long that this helps the food not burn. Well Tuesday morning my frozen porkchops decided they were not going to come out of the package. They stuck to the cardboard tray & the paper thing that soaks up the juices, and refused to let go. I spent 20 minutes getting these things into my crock pot! My hands were numb! But amazingly I was not panicked or frustrated. See if I had gotten up at my regular time I would have been soooo frustrated and late for work. But I had plenty of time and I had just centered myself on the Word! Yay! So I had to change my plans and work out at home, which I am not good at doing, but it still was better than nothing. I attempted the 30 day shred- you would think since I work out every day this would be no big deal... wrong! I have been sore for 4 days because of the stupid squats! Thanks alot Jillian! That was Day 1. Glorious it was. Oh, but I was still a little late to work. Not sure how that happened when I got up at 5am??

• Wednesday- Mr.Pate had to open again so basically the same drill for getting up. At 5am I popped right up, well 5:05 but who's counting? Mr.Pate had gotten me the workbook for Kelly Minter's "Ruth" study (I had printed off the sample week and done it and loved it) so I started it Wednesday. It was a fabulous time. I am also seeing that with this extra time my prayers are so much more focused and heartfelt. I struggle with Prayer, so this is a blessing! No fights with Pork chops this morning, but I even had time to watch an episode of "Say Yes to the Dress" from my DVR while I stretched (due to my overwhelming leg soreness from the stupid shred!). My kind of morning.

• Thursday- This morning was much more of a struggle, because Mr.Pate didnt have to get up early. So I ended up out of the bed at 5:20am. I had great time with the Lord and was able to fix lunches. But then I just took my time getting ready (starting the day off with time to linger makes me slow in getting ready I have decided) and ended up rushing to work... we had a class scheduled to come in for assessments right at 8am (who does that?) so I had to park in a metered spot to get there in time to open the office etc. SO then I had to go back out and park my car! Still not a bad morning, just alittle rushed with work. But it is amazing how the Lord prepares you with patience when you have spent time in His word.

• Friday- Got up gladly amidst a rainy day (only through the Lord I am telling you) right round 5:30 am (late I know, but whatever). Spent some fabulous time looking at Ruth and then had some time to finish a chapter of the book I am reading for Simple Mom's bookclub. Refreshing way to start the day I am telling you! Went into work ready to work joyfully.

• Saturday- I was aiming to get up at 6:00am and got up at 6:30am, so not too bad. My alone time was not as long today because me and mr.pate are celebrating our anniversary (it was Thursday) all day. To start off: pancakes at 7:30! Yay! He makes the best pancakes ever! Even though my time wasnt as long, it was great.

So there you have it. 5 days down, and the rest of February to go. I cannot begin to explain to you how valuable I think this early time is... but it is hard to tell yourself that when you are in the bed! How am I making myself get out of the bed? Each night I am falling asleep praying "Lord please literally force me out of this bed in the morning. My heart is resolved to meet with you, please help motivate my flesh to get on board!".

Some of you reading are not morning people and you are reading this thinking, why get up so early? Just spend tim with the Lord at night or later in the day. But the thing of it is, for me, if I dont do it in the morning I just wont do it. There are too many excuses, too many things that get in the way; however, at 5 am, there is nothing else that needs to get done. (Mothers of infants, you are in a different phase so do what you need to do and dont feel condemned by this. at 5am you may have a baby to feed) I dont think quiet times have to be in the morning, spending time with God at some point during the day is the point, whenever that may be. But I did like this quote I read from John Piper:

“I earnestly recommend that it be in the early morning, unless there are some extenuating circumstances. Entering the day without a serious meeting with God, over his Word and in prayer, is like entering the battle without tending to your weapons. The human heart does not replenish itself with sleep. The body does, but not the heart. We replenish our hearts not with sleep, but with the Word of God and prayer.”

So your turn: how are you doing on spending time with the Lord?? Need some encourage or accountability? At a good phase right now??

5 O'Clock Club

Recently, my friend Cheye posted about a club she was joining called the 5 O'Clock Club. Some of you may read the Girltalk blog and be familiar with this club, but I was not. So the background is that Carolyn Mahaney and her daughters formed a club a while back where they got up at 5 am to spend time with the Lord. Carolyn would call her daughters and be their alarm clock! (I can do this for you if you want me too...) This month they are hosting a 28 Day Challenge on the Girltalk blog, here is a little snippet from them:

In emergency mode. So much to do. No time for the Lord. Desperate. Alone. No doubt every woman—whether you are a mom, a student, or a businesswoman—can identify. We all want to be consistent to sit at Jesus’ feet. And yet it can seem impossible to find a slot in the schedule that we can maintain.

Dramatic action is needed. Enter the 5 O’Clock Club. For many of us, the only cure for our starving souls is to wake up early—or at least earlier than we currently do. It doesn’t have to be 5 O’Clock to join the club, just early enough to secure a regular time to sit at Jesus’ feet.

I have been struggling to really get a morning routine down every since I returned to the working world! This may be just what I need, a little bit of motivation to get up and get focused. Besides, half the time mr.pate is leaving the house at 4:45am! It will be good for me to get a little taste of how hard my man works for me. So I will be posting an update every weekend on how it is (or isnt!) going and some reflections.

If you want to join in "officially" just head over to the girltalk blog to sign up, or you can "unofficially" just leave a comment letting em know you are joining in and I will bug you check up on you throughout the month.

Good Morning!