Here are those questions:
1~ What time do you actually get up in the morning, and can you help us
to see the advantage of this early rising?
I get up either at 3:30 a.m. or 4:00 a.m. I used to think so much about
sleep, getting enough of it, etc. But now I think about the Living Word,
and I absolutely love to get alone with Him! It's amazing how He can
satisfy all the desires of the physical, emotional, and spiritual. So I
am doing much better in all three since I've made it my practice to start
my day with Him.
Yes, I still get tired. But I have learned how to better manage my day. I
get the foundational work done in the morning, so I can catch a nap in
the afternoon. My husband has even tried this at work. It's amazing how
20 minutes of rest will refresh you so. The Europeans are incredible at
getting up very early in the morning to get their work done, taking a
good rest in the afternoon, and then working on until the evening. I saw
this in France, when I was a short term missionary there, and I saw it in
Germany when my husband and I lived there for the first year and a half
of our marriage.
When I lived in Germany, the women were up very early. In fact, so many
of the food stores were open at 6:00 a.m. or earlier, and they were
bustling with women shopping for the day. (They tend to shop for their
meals each morning, as their refrigerators are very tiny, as well as
their kitchens.) They really get going early on Saturday morning, as the
stores in the town I lived were all closed on Sunday. So the women would
work doubly hard on Saturday to have everything ready for Sunday.
Saturdays were wonderful to be out and about with all the women of the
town bustling about early in the morning for the weekend shopping. It was
not uncommon to see women with baskets under their arms filled with their
goods and a bouquet of flowers tucked under an arm. Flowers were as
important as food. ~Smile~ It was also not uncommon to see women sweeping
the streets and sidewalks in front of their houses and apartments early
in the morning, as well as feather blankets thrust out of open windows to
be aired before making up the bed. So, of course, I would do the same
thing with our feather blanket, as well as sweep our front patio
Their gardens were also important. We lived in an apartment in Stuttgart
that overlooked a triangular piece of land which housed at least four
family gardens. Oftentimes in the evening we would see the families
arrive to weed, plant, and prune the garden after the dinner hour until
dusk. It inspired me so that I started a patio garden.
Speaking of the dinner hour, it was very important. Very important. I
remember having a German couple over to our house for dinner one night.
In American fashion, we were finished with dinner quite quickly. She
wanted the recipe for my crescent rolls, but I am afraid they were from a
Pillsbury can. We ate too quickly for them. They invited us up to their
apartment to continue the evening. We soon learned why.
The next month they invited us to their apartment for dinner. It lasted
three and a half hours! First they brought out something to drink while
we talked around their coffee table lit with candles for almost an hour.
Then we had soup in their dining room, also lit with candles and fresh
flowers, and went back to the coffee table to talk some more. Afterwards,
we returned to the table for the main dish of spaetzle with a delicious
thick beef broth poured over it. And wonderful dark bread. Then we
returned to the coffee table and talked some more. Lastly, we went back
to the table for dessert. It was one of the most relaxing evenings I've
spent in a long time. I went home with the spaetzle recipe and the
hospitality in my heart. God was teaching this new bride so much. My
husband and I came back to America and raised our children on homecooked
meals around a relaxed dinner table with fresh flowers and candles. It is
so important to my oldest son, that he did his best to orchestrate his
classes and his piano lessons (he is a piano teacher) around our family's
evening meal.
I also worked at American Express in Germany before having children as a
teller in a bank. My boss was German, so I learned a lot from her. God
doesn't waste any experience, does He? My boss was an incredible early
riser and a home cook. Boy, could that woman cook! She even spotted
berries outside our bank one day and went to gather them to make jam. I
think she also gathered mushrooms another day, if I remember right, as
our bank was located near the woods. I just didn't have eyes to see that
sort of thing, but I was learning. My boss worked all day from early
morning until it was dark at night, but she always talked about taking
care of her husband. She had a pet name for him, that I can't remember
right now, but she got up very early to cook so that he would have a warm
supper to come home to with fresh bread. And she spoiled him even more on
the weekends, when we would hear about what she'd cooked for him when she
came to work on Monday. She bought me a spaetzle machine for Christmas.
~Smile~ My husband enjoys homemade spaetzle, which I like to spoil him
with.
Lastly, she loved her vacations, which she fondly referred to as a
"holiday." She and her husband saved for it all year. My boss said her
husband would spoil her the entire two weeks of their holiday, not
allowing her to cook or even to make the bed. I have learned when you
spoil your spouse ("He has no need of spoil." Proverbs 31:11), he will
want to do the same for you. Your glory for him, his glory for you. The
Bridegroom for the Bride, the Bride for the Bridegroom. Wondrous, isn't
it! And I learned some of that through my German boss.
You see, so much of early rising is a practice. If you read books from
the earlier part of this century, the women often got up quite early. I
am reading two such books now. They had to get their ovens fired up so
that they could make breakfast. I am spoiled in that I get up early, but
I just have to turn a knob to fire up my oven.
Jesus got up early to pray. Samuel was an early riser. Nehemiah was an
early riser. Ruth rose early to glean in the fields. David rose early.
The list goes on and on. If you keep your eyes open for it, you will see
many wise men and women in the Bible were very early risers.
"Love not sleep, lest you come to poverty; open your eyes, and you will
be satisfied with bread." Proverbs 20:13
2~ What time do your children get up, and how do they help you?
My daughter gets up at 6:20 a.m. each morning, so she is my first child
up. Abbie is 12 years old. I have never required this of her, but she
says she wants to be like me, so she gets up early each morning. (So much
of what we teach is "caught", not taught, isn't it?) She tidies up her
room after getting dressed, and then she heads to the chicken coup to
feed the chickens and turkeys. She also feeds the goats, the cats, and
the dog. She says she likes this quiet time in the morning working with
the animals. She told me she often prays during this time. Abbie then
starts on her chore list. I give her two chores after that, plus one
recipe to make.
Gabe is my next one up. He is up usually by 6:30 or 6:45. He doesn't move
as fast as Abbie and I, so he usually sits in the kitchen chair quietly
while Abbie does the animals, and I work on my morning chores. Once he
sees Abbie start on her chore list, he gets moving. He gets three chores,
and a cooking chore.
If it is Tuesday morning, Gabe and Abbie are both up at 5:00 a.m. I call
this "Crazy Tuesday" because this is when we leave to help clean the
church. We empty all the trash cans in all the rooms, offices, and
restrooms of the main building on two floors. We are out the door at 5:30
a.m. (We've been doing this since Gabe was three years old. My older boys
used to go with us before they started college, so it gave them all much
needed practice in getting up early for the past six years.) After
cleaning the church, we are grocery shopping usually around 6:45 a.m. It
is wonderful to shop early in the morning. I get many special deals
during that time. The early bird does catch the worm! And it's very empty
and quiet in the stores, so I can move through the aisles quite quickly.
I love shopping early in the morning.
My older boys are both in college taking a full load, so their schedule
varies now. Quincy is 19, and Brady is 16. They have the same classes,
plus my oldest son, Quincy, teaches 25 piano students. (He pays for his
own schooling and books, his car insurance and registration, his gas,
some of his clothing, and he helps us with milk and tortillas, as well as
any other items he might need.) They are also the junior high worship
leaders at our church, so they lead about 150 kids on Wednesday night and
Sunday mornings, which keeps them quite busy as well. Quincy and Brady
also work at our church one day a week. I do not require them to get up
early, as they have many late nights out with church functions. They are
usually up by 7:00 a.m. to leave for college, except on Fridays when they
must get up at 6:00 a.m. Once they're all up, it gets quite loud in the
house with everyone bustling about. My older boys make their own lunches
and breakfast for everyone before they leave for college, as well as
tidying their rooms and making their beds. They also help clean the
animals pens (Brady did this just yesterday), mow the lawn, upkeep the
cars with changing the oil and brakes and such, run errands, and help
with the dishes or other chores around the house during the week.
I hope this is of some help! Have a wonderful day now.
Love,
Laine