The last few months, I've been really good about reading my Bible almost every day. I'm not saying this to receive a standing ovation or lots of pats on the back, but to share something I've learned. The days I read the the good book are the good days. When I don't read it, I generally have a "not-so-great" or "iffy" day. People have been telling me my entire life that this is true, but for some reason (maybe I thought it would take too much time or be too boring) it just never caught on.
Recently: I didn't read my Bible either last Saturday or Sunday (bad bad bad idea) and I got really annoyed with one of my best friends that Saturday, shouted at and gave him the cold shoulder on Sunday, and had to suffer through two days of not-so-greatness, plus explanations and stuff on Monday. I almost always get along with him otherwise; there were other reasons why I was irritated with him, but I should have been able to control my temper and I couldn't. I think a big part of that was because I didn't start off my day the right way.
I think another reason why people don't read their Bible everyday is because they don't know what to read. At the moment, I'm reading one chapter of the New Testament and two chapters of the Old Testament every morning before I get dressed for school, and skipping those parts of the Bible that I know I'll hit a sticking point on because I've read them so many times or they're hard to understand: Leviticus, Romans, the Gospels, Psalms, etc. NOT that they aren't good to read, it's just my goal to read the rest of the Bible, and if I don't skip those I'm more likely to not get through it all. Joshua and Nehemiah and Esther were fascinating stories. Whoever said the Bible didn't hold adventure.
I encourage everyone to read the Bible regularly. God speaks to us through His word (real life example: I was baptized on Sunday, and a leader in the church shared 1 Timothy 4:12 with me. Guess what I was reading that day? Yup, 1 Timothy 4) and digging into His word means we're digging deeper into Him. Even if it takes 30 minutes a day (it only takes me 15 minutes) those are 30 minutes which are well spent. So decide what you'll read and start digging!
I don't know about you, but I like my beauty sleep, ladies. Since I'm starting school on the 24th, I've been trying to think of ways to cut my getting-ready time down so I can sleep in as long as possible. Most of you have probably already started school (and are loving having to wake up early again, I'm sure!) so I thought I would share with you what I have come up with.
1. Time yourself.
Use a couple mornings to time yourself to figure out how long it takes you to get ready. You might find that you are allowing yourself way more time than you need. If that is the case, take the time your using on facebook or texting your friends to SLEEP instead.
2. Take showers at night.
I used to take showers every single morning and this was definitely cutting in on my sleep time (not mention, not very nice to my hair). Now I take one every other night. I find that taking a shower before bed also helps me to relax.
3. Pre-perpare your breakfast.
I can't even tell you how long it takes me to decide what to have for breakfast some mornings. Our family doesn't buy cereal often so that's not even a quick option for me. By taking a Saturday afternoon to make up and freeze a bunch of waffles to warm up when I need them, I cut down a lot of breakfast time in the morning.
4. Plan your outfits.
Okay, lets be honest, most girls take way too long to decide what to wear. But if you plan ahead, it can save a lot of time and headache on a hurried school morning.
5. Find cute and easy hairstyles.
Curling or straightening your hair every morning takes a lot of time, hassle, and can be very damaging to your hair. Youtube has tons of video hair tutorials for every texture and length, making it easy to find ways to style your particular hair type. I have a couple go-to styles that work really well for my hair texture. And when I want to change it up, I either french braid or roll my hair up in socks like rollars before going to bed to get a wavy or curly texture.
6. Take care of your skin.
Yeah, this is a weird one; how can taking care of your skin help you get more sleep? Bear with me ladies, it will make sense in a minute. So, am I completely weird in that the way I feel about my looks depends on how my skin looks? I have an acne problem most of the time and whenever I get a new breakout, my looks-esteem drops quite a bit. Yes, I know, beauty is not skin deep. But that fact doesn't change that we want to look our best, does it? I have tried so many different products to clear up my face. The problem is, whenever something worked to get rid of the acne, it made my skin dry and dead looking. This week I decided that putting all those chemicals on my face could not be good for me at all. Thus began my search for the perfect natural skin-clearer. I'm getting pretty close to finding it (thanks to pinterest). There will be a post about it once I do find it.
Anyways...that long skin story did have a point. That point is that when my skin looks good, I feel good about my looks and don't feel like I have to make up for my not good skin by wearing more makeup, making sure my hair is extra perfect, or spending more time on my clothes. Thus, I spend less time getting ready in the morning! (Whew, glad I finally got my point accross!)
I hope these ideas will help you sleep in later! Let me know if you've tried any of these things and how it worked for you. Or if you have other ideas for cutting down your getting-ready time.
