What is the first thing you do in the morning? If you’re like me then maybe you without even thinking check your phone. Did I get any messages in the night? Anything important?

Then the next thing I do, again without thinking, is to scan the news and/or social media. Every single time something bad comes up. The news does not sell happy stories. The suggested videos on Facebook show some happy stories, then ones that make you angry, and then the ones meant to indoctrinate you (about every 4th one).

We think it doesn’t effect us too much. But is that the case? But we can never read such things and not have an emotional response. Even is that response is just to harden and numb ourselves to one more bad news headline.

And that is how we start our day.

Per the previous post, I watched a video that made my blood boil. And it still is almost 30 minutes later. And yet the day has barely started yet. Is this how God wants my day to begin?

The morning and the evening are such tender times. Tender because they are the times where reduce our intensity of thinking and go the things of the spirit. Whether that’s arts, entertainment and music or whether its Bible reading and prayer.

I have tried in the past to not run to social media in the mornings. Or get distracted by it at nights. And I have struggled. It’s such an ingrained part of life that I don’t even realize how much it is a distraction.

That is until the phone and internet went down the other day. For almost 12 hours I can’t tell you how many times I reached for my phone to check on something online or to see messages, or how I reached for my tablet or went to my computer forgetting internet wasn’t available.

I want to start my days with joy. And what I saw this morning didn’t accomplish that.

Oh Lord, deliver us all.