Moms and Mornings…Let’s Talk About it.
an excerpt from How to Love Your Morning: Faith-filled Habits to Build a Life of Joy and Purpose, One Day at a Time, by Jennifer Dukes Lee
Note from Monica: Hey friends! I am honored to get to share an excerpt from a brand-new book that I think will encourage and inspire you. My friend Jennifer wrote it, and I’m pretty sure she had me (and you) in mind as she wrote. 😉 Jennifer is relatable and funny, yet has a way of speaking to our hearts with Truth and grace. What a gift! Her new book is excellent — and one I think we all need — whether you consider yourself a #morningperson or not.
Be sure to ENTER the GIVEAWAY at the bottom of this post!
If you’re a mom, you already know this: mornings are rarely quiet.
There are cereal spills, missing shoes, and sibling squabbles. Sometimes? Your morning starts when a tiny, pajama-clad child materializes at the edge of your bed, staring into your soul, until you wake up in terror, questioning if you are in a horror movie or just parenting.
So yes, motherhood has a way of waking you up—sometimes spiritually, sometimes violently at 5:42 a.m. But it was in those very years that my mornings started to evolve.
They evolved considerably with two major life events:
1. Having kids and
2. Making Jesus a priority in life.
The mornings of young motherhood were chaotic, exhausting, and noisy, making quiet time with God something that wasn’t actually quiet at all. Feeding children, wiping little hands, and refereeing living-room squabbles—on never – enough sleep—produced a kind of tired that coffee can’t cure. If you’ve ever tried to pray while someone is tugging on your sleeve, you know exactly what I mean: motherhood has a way of turning “quiet time” into “anything-but-quiet time.”
At the same time, I’d accidentally fallen into a legalistic view about what mornings with God were supposed to look like. I don’t know where I picked it up, but I bought into the idea that “good” Christians needed to carve out lengthy morning sessions with God—accompanied by tomes of commentaries, flowing prayers, scented candles, and journals with profound insights written in exquisite penmanship. This was even before the advent of Instagram, which doubled down on the impossible aesthetic.
A picture-perfect version of quiet time seemed unrealistic for me. I was just trying to figure out how to pee alone without toddlers breathing like tiny Darth Vaders under the crack of the bathroom door.
However, it was during those years of early motherhood that I learned one of the most freeing lessons of all about mornings: the success of a morning isn’t measured by how much holiness you squeeze out of it before some heavenly timer goes off.
When the girls were still young, I (thankfully) had let go of what a morning was supposed to look like and leaned into rituals that worked for us. I took all that I’d learned about my relationship with mornings up to that point in my life and began to develop a new morning mindset.
Those years taught me that we aren’t impressing God with how pretty our quiet time is. God loves us as much on the mornings when we exegete the entire book of Philippians as he does on the mornings when all we can eke out is a whispered prayer like “Help me, God.”
Motherhood also taught me how to uncomplicate mornings, find peace in the chaos, and help our daughters establish healthy morning rituals that they would carry with them into adulthood. It taught me that the presence of children doesn’t cancel the presence of God.
I didn’t even know about “morning routines” back then, and yet our simple morning practices accidentally became healthy morning habits. They were things we did, out of necessity, to make mornings less rushed, saner, and more God-centered. They were the things that set the tone of the morning, no matter the time of the morning. Our mornings weren’t perfect, but they created predictable expectations and healthy rhythms. It went down like this:
Mornings started the night before, when we made sure clothes and backpacks were ready. We got to bed in plenty of time. We anticipated good things on the other side of the night. In the morning, as a work-at-home mom, I had the privilege of being present when they woke up, which gave me an opportunity to set the day’s tone. There was breakfast waiting for them, even if it was as simple as yogurt and peanut butter toast. There were hugs and affirmations, especially if the girls were anticipating a hard day with schoolwork or friends. I wanted to create an atmosphere where mornings embodied the spirit of Christ—kindness, generosity, forgiveness, integrity, and compassion.
Those mornings always, always involved prayer.
From the time our girls were old enough to fold their hands, I helped them adopt a morning prayer ritual. I gave them simple spiral notebooks in which they could draw their prayers with colored pencils. As they grew older, they wrote their prayers with words. Even when the words were spelled incorrectly, they understood that God could translate each one.
On school mornings, prayers were spoken aloud. The girls and I would pray in the car on the way to the bus stop at the end of our long country driveway.
Now I’m in a new era— an empty nest season— which has given me yet another lens through which to see mornings. I’m adjusting to new rhythms and rituals. These days, in the silence of my morning time with God, I am reminded of how sacred and sweet those noisy “quiet times” with young children actually were. I didn’t realize then that some of the best prayers of my life were prayed with one eye open and a child in my lap.
I don’t tell you these things to make you think our family’s mornings were perfect; they weren’t. I tell you these things to show you that your mornings can be more than bearable; they truly can be beautiful.
I get the skepticism about “beautiful mornings” because I am not certain I would have actually called myself a morning person earlier in life. But I can see that I really was one all along.
For clarification, I’m not the kind of morning person who runs half-marathons before breakfast or makes viral reels of a perfectly curated latte.
I’ve been a morning person in the sense that I have woken up most mornings believing in the inherent value of a new day, knowing God’s new mercies unfailingly rise with every dawn. And believe it or not, you are a morning person, too! Because being a morning person isn’t a Clock Thing; it’s a God Thing! It’s not about when you wake up, it’s about how you wake up—believing that God is waiting for you.
If you’re a mother in the thick of it—if your mornings feel messy, loud, interrupted, or exhausting—I want you to know this: God is not waiting for your house to be quiet before He meets you.
He is present in the noise, near in the chaos, and faithful in the ordinary.
Your quiet time may not be quiet. But it can still be sacred.
And the morning you have—the one with kids running down the hallway—can still become a morning where love begins.
*Jump to the bottom for a chance to win a copy of How to Love Your Morning…
*How to Love Your Mornings, by Jennifer Dukes Lee. Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group, 2026. Used by permission.*
Jennifer Dukes Lee is a bestselling author, speaker, and morning evangelist from Iowa. She is the author of several books, including Growing Slow, It’s All Under Control, and Stuff I’d Only Tell God. She wants to live her life in such a way that you can’t help but want more of Jesus. Follow Jennifer on social media @JenniferDukesLee.
Answer one or both of the following questions and you’ll be entered to win a copy of How to Love Your Morning!
And in the meantime, order a copy from Amazon HERE! (If you end up winning you’ll have a nice gift for a fellow Morning-person in progress! 😄
- What is one challenge you face in your current morning routine?
- What would your ideal morning look like?
Leave a comment below and I will choose 2 winners on Wednesday, April 15th!
Giveaway closed. Congrats to Elle and Andi on winning a copy! Thank you all for the great comments! 🙂
1) Honestly, I struggle with wanting to get up and out of bed in the first place. I’m naturally more of a night owl for one thing, but I also always still feel tired. I think I really need a mindset shift to view each new day as a beautiful blessing and not as something to get through.
Getting up before 730am. I would prefer it to be 630am. My ideal morning would be to wake up at 630, go for a walk/run for roughly 20-25 mins then have the bible study time until 730. Maybe clean a little. Just not to feel rushed.
My biggest morning challenge is just being tired, so I stay in bed until the kids force me to get up and fix them breakfast and I am immediately drowning in taking care of everything and everyone.
My ideal morning looks like not being so tired and having a least some Bible time, maybe a short workout, and a cup of tea would be amazing.
A challenge I face in my morning routine is feeling defeated before 8am. I feel discouraged, exhausted and unmotivated.
My ideal morning would be waking up before my 3 boys (3yr, 2yr & 6m), shower, read the Bible & pray, be fully dressed and ready for the day and have a game plan for the whole day set, plus know what I’m making for dinner…and be excited for the day ahead with my sweet sons.
One challenge in my morning routine is my fast pace. I go too fast and sometimes forget things. one time I grabbed my sons backpack instead of mine.
My ideal morning will be slower paced with time for scripture.
My current challenge is dealing with different wake up times, sometimes out of my control. My ideal wake-up is to have a cup of coffee and be oustide in the fresh air for a few minutes to enjoy the sun.
would love to sit in prayer and worship before jumping into some movement!!
What is one challenge you face in your current morning routine?
I agree I am a morning person in the sense you described! And… I come alive around 5 pm and sleep quite late. This has not served our family well, and I’m feeling a tug to find another way!
What would your ideal morning look like?
Breakfast in the air fryer
Worshipping the Lord and outdoor exercise or lifts with the husband, wrap up with a cooldown as the kids join us
Breakfast as a family
Shower and start the day!
Biggest challenge in the morning is my own fault! I gave my toddler the freedom to choose his breakfast each morning but now that I have a preschooler, he still wants to choose his breakfast but it’s not always a feasible option which leads to tears and a rough start of the day.
We discuss when it’s a neutral time and he’s agreeable, but come time he just wants what he wants or he’s upset.
ideal: he eats what I make! 🤣(all foods he likes and asks for but served based on availability and time – not demands)
Kids not getting home from{m.sports until 9pm and still needing dinner means bedtime is later than desired making waking up so hard to do…
My biggest challenge is a huge lack of energy due to cancer, to get going.
An ideal morning would be lots of energy to get off to a good start and keep it during the whole day.
One challenge I face in my morning routine? Not having much of one since it’s hard to get to bed at a decent time with my 2 yr old staying up until 11p-1a.
Ideal morning – wake up early to exercise, read the Bible/pray, shower and get ready, make coffee and get breakfast going BEFORE the kids wake up 🤣
Current struggle – I. Just. Want. To. Sleep. In.
You can see the dichotomy I face!
hehe. You are not alone. Bummer that mornings are simply the best time to do everything! (including sleep!) xo
I recently retired and now I’m taking care of my granddaughter full time so mornings are still hectic but in a sweet beautiful joyful way. I still wake up early ( but at least not 3 am) to do my devotionals. It’s a blessing that I can now do devotionals with my granddaughter
LOVE this!! I look forward to being an involved grandma one day! big hugs!
1. Challenge= inconsistent schedule with newborn.
2. Ideal= consistent wake-up time, quality quiet time with God, quick work out before kids get up 😅
So good. And (as you already know–) this too shall pass! 🙂 XO
I love my mornings with Jesus, however I find myself always doing other “things” besides that. Right now in my season of life, I am a student, homeschool mom, soccer coach, and all of the above. I absolutely NEED to spend time with Jesus to help me make it through the day. What’s challenging for me is, I try to get so much done before my kids wake up, and I’m not being intentional about spending time with the Lord as I should.
My ideal morning would be to have enough time to spend as long as I want in the word with Jesus, hit the gym, have enough time to get ready for the day, get my homework done, get my kids lessons for the day done, have a nutritious wholesome breakfast, then my kids can get wake up and I would have all my morning tasks done. hahahah.
I hear you. And that is one ambitious morning…:) (But I relate so much!) Hang in there and give yourself credit — you’re doing a lot. Hope you can find some grace and practical help in the book! xo
1. Initiating and maintaining my own routine/structure and morning quiet time when my people are in all my spaces bathroom/kitchen/family room, etc and trying to get our of the house for school and work. By the time everyone leaves, the morning is half over. My routine and their random routines do not lineup.
2. Everyone is out of the house by 8 a.m. and I can sit for 1/2 hr for devo’s, get in exercise and ready for the day before 10 a.m.
1) Im exhausted! Healing from chronic Fatigue syndrome. Im actually a morning person and love getting up early but sometimes my body wants/needs more rest and I often ignore it so I can get up and “do my routine” before kids awake.
2) An ideal morning would be waking up REFRESHED what ever time that may be, pausing… breathing in God, excited for the gift of life the day, my heart and mind are calm and joyful. I would have coffee and meet with God however that may look… meaning sometimes that may be a journal session, scripture reading, a biblical meditation or maybe just sitting and listening to the birds. No legalism or have to, shoulds or lists of healing modalities. Just joy and God
Oh so sorry about the chronic fatigue. I pray you can put that 100% behind you soon. Love your heart for mornings. Sounds lovely!
1. challenge on getting Bible time in on days I have to commute to office
2. Ideal= time in God’s Word, praying over my kids.
1. Like a lot of people I think, consistency. I try to read a chapter out of the OT and one out of the NT every morning. But not always accompanied by prayer (not very wise!)
2. I would love my morning to look like reading my own Bible and prayer. Followed by reading something with my children and praying with them at breakfast!
1. Consistency. Working on it. 😊
2. More quiet, less rush. A better routine.
An ideal morning would be…praying with my 17-yr old before he heads out the door for school. Praying with my husband before he heads to work. Then when the house is quiet, making a cup of coffee and sitting down to nurture my relationship with my Father…prayer, scripture, journal.
LOVE all that. 🌺
This would be a good read, I struggle against mornings on 75% of them. Wanting to sleep in but also wanting that warm cup of tea and time with God. Be interesting to hear what insight she has to share and how to take on your mornings and work them for your family!
My biggest challenge in the morning is deciding whether to exercise or do devotions. If I don’t exercise in the morning it won’t happen at all, but if I don’t do devotions I’ll still get it done but it’ll be a lot harder once the kids are up. (I currently go back and forth lol)
This! Exactly. Same struggle happening here 🫣
me too! There’s not enough time to do both and sometimes I get wonderfully lost in Gods word and dont want to leave to workout.
I hear you!!! The struggle is real!
One challenge I face is getting up before my kids so that I have a few minutes to get myself together and spend time with God.
Thank you for the opportunity to win this book. As we wind down our homeschooling years with 2 kids left at home as we finish up high school, I have more time for slow mornings. I thought I’d be more diligent in my TAWG- time alone with God as we’ve phrased it. Turns out I’m not taking advantage of this opportunity! I’d love some practical tips to start my day with the Lord!
Ahh, love that — TAWG (I haven’t heard that before!) Sending hugs
My daughter is grown so I don’t have the busyness of getting her ready for school and my husband gets up after I do so the morning is my time. One of my challenges in the morning is trying to fit it all in – quiet time with God, exercise, eating, showering and getting ready for the work day to start. Plus trying to decide which of the many email devotions do I read that morning! Lol
Isn’t it frustrating that mornings seem to be the best time for EVERYTHING? hmph. Keep up the good work! God sees your heart!
I get distracted by social media and the temptation to look up what happened while I was sleeping bc I feel so lonely and need to feel connection even through “fake news” then I feel worse because everyone is having so much fun and I’m not.
Well the part about everyone having fun is also fake news. 😉 Keep seeking Truth — and best way to do it is in God’s Word. I think this book will encourage you greatly!
An ideal morning would be quiet with a cup of coffee!
My biggest challenge in the morning is my mind racing against time. Everything that needs to be done by a certain time and the many unknowns of the mornings with kids – will they be cooperative this morning or more challenging.
My ideal morning would be time with God and by myself before the kids wake up. Everyone waking up on their own & cooperating, no fighting or arguing only words of motivation & encouragement to carry us all into our day.
My ideal morning: looking out at the mountains or a lake (or both!) while eating a yummy breakfast, exercising (maybe listening to music) and then having a coffee while continuing to enjoy the stunning view.