Welcome to the Early to Rise Challenge! Throughout the month of March, I’m challenging myself and my readers to make the most of their mornings. So every week day morning at 9 a.m. EST, I’m posting a short Early to Rise post. I’ll share a few of my thoughts on the day’s passage from Early to Rise, tell you what time I got up that morning, and encourage you to leave a comment to tell us what time you got up and how you’re doing on the challenge.
“It’s Your World, So Change It”
While getting out of bed was not something I loved this this morning (somewhat because of the time change, but mostly because I stayed up too late finishing Eve’s Daughters!), I loved, loved, loved Andy’s Day 11 reading in the Early to Rise book. Why? Because it’s something I’m passionate about.
We all want to do something with our lives. We want to make a difference. We want to change lives. We want to have an impact.
Sometimes, though, we make excuses. We want life to be perfect before we start in on our grand plans.
Here’s the thing: life will never be perfect. But that shouldn’t stop us from using today to make a difference.
You may be thinking: “But I’m not gifted or wealthy!” Maybe you don’t possess any amazingly noteworthy talents (though no matter who you are, you are an artist of some sort) and maybe you are barely scraping by, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do something right where you’re at.
Smile and look into the eyes of people you meet today. Express genuine gratitude. Send an email or text to tell someone how much you appreciate them. Have a tea party with your kids. Take a loaf of bread to a new neighbor. Call a friend to ask how she’s really doing. Look for something you can do each hour of today to brighten someone else’s life.
What are you going to do to change the world today? I want to hear about it. And don’t let this question stump you. If you don’t have any creative ideas, use one that I shared above or check out this list of great ideas. I promise that in reaching out to others, you yourself will be blessed, too!
What Time Did You Get Up This Morning?
Me? I got up at 5:32 a.m. this morning.
What time did you get up? Leave a comment and let us know!
Join in the Chatter!
Want to blog about this challenge? If you’re blogging through this challenge with me, be sure to leave your link to your direct post for today below. Plus, if you’d like to post your daily posts to the Early to Rise Group Board on my Pinterest page, just shoot me an email (moneysavingmom @ gmail dot com) and I’ll invite you.
Want to follow along on Twitter or Instagram? Each week day morning on my Facebook Page, my Twitter account, and my Instagram account, I’ll be posting a picture of my alarm clock as public accountability. I’d love to have you do the same or join in the discussion on Twitter and Instagram. Just follow hashtag #EarlytoRise to see what others are tweeting and Instagramming about this challenge!
I am really enjoying this challenge. I love having time in the morning!
Kate
I’m so glad you’re enjoying it!
I got up at 6:26. I really can’t believe you achieved 5:30 without an alarm right after Daylight Savings Time!
For the challenge, I’d really like to find the time to cast on a pair of fingerless gloves for one of the ladies in our church nursery. She always volunteers, and I just noticed last week how cold her hands are due to circulation issues. But I also have only four weeks left (theoretically) in this pregnancy, and just don’t know that I can spare any more time. Now I have guilt!
No guilt, okay? It sounds like you’ve got a lot on your plate right now!
Oh and the no alarm comment was accidentally copied over from another post (I’ve been copying the posts each day and then just editing/tweaking — but I accidentally didn’t edit that part out. Maybe because I wasn’t quite yet fully awake when I wrote this post?!? ;)). I’m pretty positive there’s no way I would have woken up without an alarm right after DST — especially since I didn’t go to bed early!
Today is my day off work…got up at my goal time of 8. After a day full of appts I stopped and visited my great aunt who is close to 90. Although I think I was more blessed from the encounter 🙂
I love that you were blessed by being a blessing!
Thanks so much for this great challenge, and for letting us all link up.
Thanks so much for participating!
Phone alarm was set for 5:30 AM, but arose at 5 AM. Still feeling a bit jet-lagged today due to the start of daylight savings time.
I’m delivering dinner (soup/salad/bread) to a friend who’s having a really rough week. She’s a homeschooling mother of three, and feeling a bit overwhelmed by life. Her family has been such a great blessing to ours since we moved here 1 1/2 years ago, so we wanted to do something special for them this time. 🙂
Love this! Thanks for sharing!
Woke up at 7:30 am – had a hard time getting to sleep last night, so I’m not feeling so well today. I think the Daylight Savings Time is throwing me off. It might take me some time to adjust to it this, but here’s to better luck tomorrow!
Woke up at 7:49AM today…without the benefit of the alarm clock which I’d set for DST but forgot to turn on. Oops! But you know what? If today were Saturday (pre-time change), I would’ve been awake at 6:49AM on my own!!!!! Can’t remember the last time that happened that wasn’t due to insomnia.
Unfortunately, I’m battling a cold, so while I did get up and do my reading, drink some hot tea, take care of the animals, and fix breakfast, I ended up going back to bed for a couple of hours for more rest. That might have to be how I improved the world today. 🙂
So impressed with you — even with a cold! I hope you feel better soon!
Wow, pretty amazing that you were up at 5:32 WITHOUT an alarm…especially with the time change!! I’ve been getting up at 5:30 for the challenge but the combination of a baby that didn’t want to go to sleep last night, coming down with a cold, and the time change made me decide to set my alarm for 6:30 this morning instead. However, I heard my hubby’s alarm at 5:30 and when I didn’t fall right back to sleep I decided to get up then. So glad I did. Got some exercising and straightening my room up before the kids started waking.
I’m thinking a small step to eating healthier to change my world today!
Great idea!
Today I woke up 15 minutes late and didn’t do anything
from my morning routine. Well tomorrow is another day!
Tomorrow IS a new day! 🙂
Here we go! I know I’m more than a week late but better late than never! 🙂
I have been quite affected by the time change. I’ve been staying up WAY to late and this morning I wasn’t up until about 6:30 or so. The thing I plan on working on changing in my world is preparation/organization. Having things planned out a bit more so that obligations do not sneak up on me. 🙂
I loved today challenge. I look forward to sharing my life with someone today and hopefully pressing into their life to make an impact for the Kingdom.
Up at 5:08am today.
Changing the world sounds like such a daunting task, even though I know we all can do our own part every single day. 🙂 Today my husband and I will be getting together to have dinner with his parents. They are such a blessing to us and we make it a priority to see them at least once a week. Today we have a small surprise for them- an early Easter basket for them with a few small treats. I know they change my world for the better just by being themselves.
Also during lunch today I am planning to vaccuum out my car as I had my dog in there over the weekend and I know my husband will appreciate having the fur removed since he car pools with me. 🙂 Not world changing perhaps, but I know it will make his day a little sunnier to not have to sit in a chair full of dog fur.
I woke up/got up at 4:50am. Got a lot done before the kids got up so feeling better about letting some other stuff sit while I hang out just with them. A friend emailed for prayer this morning and am doing that for her…and asking her to give me something off her plate so she can be relieved of it this week.
Love this! It’s amazing what a difference early rising can make!
One of the reasons I love the blog world is the differences between people. As a natural early riser, it is amazing to read how difficult it is for some people to get up. I need a challenge to be able to sleep later! If I make it to 6:20 on the weekend I am so excited! I have the opposite problem of wanting to go to sleep earlier at night than the world does. It’s not such a problem with my husband and I, but so many kid activities (at the high school level) are so late! I’m a zombie at that point. I know that I could adjust my body to some level of staying up later and getting up earlier, but right now my opportunity for exercise is to get up at 4:25 and do 5:00 am Crossfit, so I can shower and eat and be at work at 7:00 am, so for now I think I’ll just have to be sleepy for some things. Being able to get the exercise in and still get off work in time to be with my kids after school makes it worth it. An added bonus is my husband and I go to Crossfit together, so I think it strengthens our relationship as well as our bodies. I admire so many of you for taking the challenge! Good things happen early in the morning!
I couldn’t go to bed by 1:00 a.m last night and I don’t know why… but I woke up 7:30 a.m this morning. I finished my work out and read a chaper of my bible. I usually take out my dogs to walk after that, but it’s raining so bad around here and they looks so sad.
I sent an email to my mom this morning, and I’m planning to send a letter to my long distance friend.
This makes me so happy to see you putting forth effort to make a difference in others’ lives!
Got up at 6:33 this morning.
I love your simple ideas for changing the world! My in-laws have been away for two weeks so today I am going to surprise them by making them a special dinner (it’s already in the crock pot!) and a quick vacuum and cleaning. My son is even getting into the act and made them a welcome home sign!
Love this idea! Have a wonderful day!
I fooled my family and myself by turning all of the clocks in the house up one hour on Saturday morning and IT WORKED. We didn’t have anywhere to be and worked outside in the beautiful Spring like weather all day. We were able to all get to bed by 9pm Sat. night and by this morning, we really never felt the time difference. I was up at 5a.m. this morning and I think making the refried beans Crystal posted about this week-end (already in the crockpot cooking) will be kind of life changing for my husband and son 😉 I am making tacos and burritos and can’t wait to see how they turn out.
Yay! You’re on top of things; I love it!
That was genius. We did okay on Sunday morning, but today was so hard. We usually start homeschool at 8:00 (having eaten, gotten dressed, etc.) and today we didn’t start until 9:00. I have to stick that tip in my bag of tricks for next year!
I was just thinking that the time change would be so much easier if it were a day earlier. I’m not sure why it didn’t occur to me to change our family over a day early! I hope I remember that great tip next year. Sunday is easy….its today that’s tough.
I was up one hour late this morning — wonder why?
🙂 Hey, you were up, that’s what matters!
7:30 for me this morning. I had trouble falling asleep! That’s later than my goal time, too, but since we get the weekends “off” the challenge and I have to get up early on the weekends (5:30 Saturday morning for running), I just take another day per week off. Hopefully my body adjusts to DST soon.
Today… I’ll get my lunch break workout in, make a trip to the grocery store, and make progress on my big projects at work.
It sounds like you’re doing great and getting back on track!
Today I start being a mentor at the local high school (where my kids don’t go to) and help guide individual one on one students/seniors from high school to the real world. And with all this savings, and amazing tips, I know it will make a difference!
I love this!
Major fail on early rising today. I went to bed incredibly too late after helping with a meet and greet event for my little cousin and then helping my parents last night, I woke up at the last possible minute – 4:55. I also didn’t do any of my list preparing for the this morning last night, so I REALLY missed my early rising.
But, I enjoyed Andy’s chapter today and I plan on paying for the person behind me at Zumba tonight to brighten their evening 🙂
Look on the bright side: at least you now know that your early morning things have been making a difference. And tomorrow is a new day!
Yes ma’am! Reminds of one of my favorite quotes from the Anne of Green Gables series (movies): “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it” 🙂
Love that quote! Love the movies too. In fact, I’ve found myself thinking the very same thing more than once through this challenge.
6:30 for me and I feel like my brain wants that hour back. I am trying to catch up on my tasks now. I went to bed an hour later than I should have. I am having probs with the winding down portion of the evening before bed. I just keep finding something to do and before i know it 11:30 is here. taking 5 antihistamines a day aint helping much either. but today is a new day to try, right?
Today is definitely a new day to try! 🙂
4:30 – I teach bootcamp in the mornings for extra money and a free membership for my family! I love it! But sometimes tired:)
Go you!
I went to bed entirely too late from a busy day of assisting a meet & greet for my little cousin, and then helping my parents last night, especially for the time I had to be up so I waited until the absolute last minute possible to get up – 4:55. I had none of my list done of things that I have prepared, which made for a super rushed morning. Major fail on rising early this morning and I missed it so much, however I had to have the extra sleep (less than 5 hours). 🙁
I plan on paying for the person behind me at Zumba tonight to brighten their day 🙂
My wake time was 5:50am. I went on a woman’s retreat this weekend so my goal was to write some encouraging notes to some of the ladies. It was an awesome time of reflecting on God’s faithfulness!!! (that was the theme) We also focused on sharing “short-stories” of how God’s shown faithfulness in protection, finances, love, forgiveness, etc. It was a very moving, touching powerful time. But I know that we can come back and get swallowed up with life and forget the tender time we just had. So my goal is to send a few encouraging notes.
I am loving the devotion time with the Lord I’ve been having in the morninngs!!! It’s something I’ve wanted to do and finially I am not making the excuses I had to stay in bed anymore.
This morning was my hardest by far. I usually have trouble adjusting to the time change and this time was no different. So when my alarm went off this morning I had lots of excuses running through my head as to why I needed to stay in bed. I really had to fight to get up. But I won this morning. Getting up wasn’t easy but I am so glad I made the decision to get up. I have already gotten my exercise out of the way and I am ready for my day.
I was up at 6:30 again this morning! Tomorrow I’m bumping my wake up time to 6:15. I’m loving this time of pouring into myself in the morning. Today I’m looking and praying for an opportunity to pour into someone outside my immediate family!
I love this — and I’m so grateful that you’re finding your early morning rising to be so beneficial!
Today I’m subbing in a special ed class. I’ll make an extra effort to “catch” the kids doing their best. They are some of my favorite students. 🙂
Beautiful!
I had a rough night sleeping (on top of going to bed too late), but I was out of bed at 6:38am…and feel like I’ve been run over by a bus.
Today I will have dinner ready before my son gets home from school and I will devote my undivided attention to him this afternoon.
I love your goals! Hopefully you’ll feel more energetic as the day goes by!
I had a bit of insomnia (probably because I ate too much chocolate right before bed!), so I woke up about 2 a.m. and got up at 3:15. That wasn’t my plan… Ha! As for today’s theme, I think we can initiate change simply with random acts of kindness. I’ve been amazed at how people respond when I give them a shopping cart at Aldi and tell them “It’s on me!” and to keep their quarter… Something so simple, yet they comment on the blessing.