How to Create a Morning Routine Framework for Summer
Can we talk morning routine? Because just because it’s summer doesn’t mean life stops rocking us. There are disappointments that chaff and good things that crumble and new things that sprout. Uncertainty doesn’t stay away or doubt at bay.
I need my daily time with Jesus as much in the summer as I do the rest of the year, and I’ll bet you do too.
But it feels harder this season, doesn’t it? The rhythms you adopted during the school year no longer fit. The sun wakes up early and goes to bed late, and while that’s wonderful, no school doesn’t mean kids sleep in, or that you don’t have work.
You’re trying to fit a bunch of extra into days that are less structured but still only 24 hours. Between all that and the heat, you’re exhausted.
So let’s talk about finding our rhythm in the sway of summer. How do we tether ourselves to truth and the tender hand that holds us when everything looks, feels, is different?
Why A Framework
Maybe the phrase morning routine suggests rigidity. Stoic discipline. It sounds overwhelming and opposite of all that summer encompasses.
I’ve tried that kind of morning routine and failed as fast as I do with New Year’s resolutions. We need a different plan, a framework that flexes with the nuances of the day but provides the stability we crave. One that brings us closer to Jesus instead of getting in the way.
A framework gives us a sequence so our mornings aren’t left up to whim and good intentions. It’s gentle, neither pushing us to hurry or telling us time spent makes us any more holy or more welcome.
It’s an invitation to rest, knowing Jesus wants us right next to Him. To let Him fill us so we overflow His goodness the rest of our day.
When we adopt a framework, rather than rigid discipline, we find our morning routine is no longer about the Bible reading plan or the length of our prayers. Irrelevant is whether or not we journal, prefer silence or worship music, choose indoors or outside, or talk to Jesus on our knees or curled in a chair with steaming coffee in our hand. It’s not about exactly what we do, but why and with Who.
The single most important gauge of a good morning routine is if it pulls you nearer to Jesus.
So let’s set aside the shoulds and shame. Forget about timers and coordinated highlighters and what everyone else is doing.
This is just between you and Jesus.
My Summer Morning Routine
I’ll walk you through the key habits in my current morning routine, not to tell you what to include in yours, but to show you how to use a framework that can flex with the time you have available on any given day. Here’s what I’m believing for you: hunger to know God more fully and grace for what it looks like in your actual life.
1—Breath Prayer
I begin with a breath prayer, before I get out of bed, but if I forget, before I open my Bible.
The beauty of a breath prayer is its brevity. It fits effortlessly into our morning—or throughout our day—while still doing the important work of posturing our hearts to praise, honor, adore. A simple prayer is easy to remember and repetition roots us in truth.
My breath prayer is consistent for a full year as it’s tied to my word of the year. You might prefer to change it more often, or never, rotate through a list of breath prayers, or recite short Scriptures as you slow your breath.
You’re welcome to adopt mine, which is simply a line from the song “Be Exalted” by Pursue:
Jesus be (inhale)
Exalted in me (exhale).
For more ideas, grab these breath prayers to combat anxiety.
2—Scripture
The next practice in my morning routine is time in Scripture. I’m weeks into a 3-year plan in the back of my Bible but have had long stretches where my only plan is to read one book of the Bible at a time.
Whether I’m reading a few verses (and re-reading them the next day), following Mary Demuth’s 90-day challenge (highly recommend if you feel led), or something in between, the point is to soak in Spirit-inspiration. That’s how we deepen our understanding of His heart so we can adopt His nature.
Don’t get caught up in the amount you’re reading. Far more important is that your heart is tender so what you read can take root.
3—Journal
My journal stays close while I read. It’s a blank, lined journal that houses Bible verses I’m memorizing, my numbered gratitude list, questions, and prayers. I write at least a little in the morning, and if I run out of time, I add to it throughout the day.
Keeping my journal within reach allows me to write down the verse that jumped off the page. Sometimes I write out the whole verse. Other times, I turn it into a gratitude or prayer.
Another reason I make journaling a morning habit is I find it changes something in my heart to tell God thank you before I know what the day will contain. This pre-gratitude trains my heart to trust Him before I see the breakthrough or redemption.
Still, there are days I spend more time on the other components of my morning routine, and I write my gratitude at the end of the day—or the following morning.
Ready access to my journal encourages the daily habit of journaling. But it’’s a want-to, not a have-to, or an it-must-look-like-this.
4—Facedown Time
Some mornings I spend time on my knees before I read or journal. Sometimes it’s after, and sometimes it’s during. But regardless of where it falls in the sequence, it’s a staple of my morning because I know God differently on my knees. The physical posture of surrender tenderizes my heart and increases my awareness of God. It’s my favorite element of my morning routine and I lose track of time (which is often why I have to shorten other elements in the framework).
Facedown time can be quiet or filled with worship music. Most mornings I play a single, recorded-live worship song on repeat. Check out the songs I love best HERE.
This is a time you can praise, petition, or confess, remembering you have bold access to God. It’s also a pause to simply practice listening.
5—Morning Walk
The final habit I’ve embraced is my morning walk. It’s extended conversation with God while slowing my bent to rush and offering quiet before the chaoc and noise of the rest of summertime days. I often write while I walk because words flow more effortlessly, but I rarely write because I have to.
Some walks are punctuated with pauses so I can capture glory seeping through sunrises and and Kentucky landscape. Sometimes I’m working through something with God and just need to run. There are days I answer more comments than write long. The point is not the length of the walk or how much work I get done but the way it gives me exhale and honest conversation with Jesus.
Your Turn
I hope sharing what my early mornings look like inspires some ideas for your own routine. As you develop a framework of key ingredients, remember we’re balancing structure and flexibility, ideals and reality. More than anything, we want to simply spend daily time with Jesus.
May I pray for you?
Jesus, you see my weary friend, enjoying her summer at the same time as she wishes it were over. Meet her there in the midst of all that she can’t control. Grow her desire to deep-know you and fill her with ideas for her own morning habits.
Just a friend over here in your corner,
