Greetings, beloved in Christ. I hope that you are well on this day. There is a quote from Baptist preacher Charles Spurgeon that has influenced a great deal of my life. That quote is, “Begin as you mean to go on.” Begin every activity, everything you do, as you mean to continue it. Set the intention for how you want to be in a job, in a place, in a relationship.
To that end, every morning before I set foot out of bed, I say a prayer of thanksgiving. I thank God for sleep, no matter how fitful it was. I thank God for waking for another opportunity to be present with those that I love. I thank God for a new day, a new beginning, an opportunity to live into my call as a follower of Jesus Christ.
I usually follow that prayer of thanksgiving, grounding myself in scripture. For the next few days, I’m going to be making my way through Psalm 119. But I ground myself in scripture. And following that, I make time for music. Music opens my spirit. I think it sets me on a path to receive the goodness and the blessings that God will send my way.
I have found on the days that I don’t “have time” to begin that way, my days are rougher. They’re not as rich. I don’t experience them the same way. Which is why, in as much as I am able every day, I begin with those elements because they set my trajectory for the rest of the day. I begin as I mean to go on.
How do you begin your day? Is gratitude a part of your waking? How do you set your intentions for how you will go on? When we are intentional about those things, I think we are more open to what the Spirit has in store for us. And so I offer you Spurgeon’s quote, “Begin each day, each opportunity, each relationship as you mean to go on.” Blessings.