Morning Discipline – Being Present in the Present

Good morning!

It is a new week and a new day and I’m so glad you could join me as we continue our journey toward renewing our minds and improving our self-discipline. If you’re just joining me, you can read my article, “Morning and Evening: A New Self Discipline Journey” to learn more about why I am doing this, and how this may benefit you as well.

This week we are going to focus each day on reflecting. Each day this week I will provide affirmations, scriptures, and daily challenges regarding this topic. Next week will be a new one!

With that said, let’s start our morning together!

BREATHING EXERCISE

Before we begin let us take some deep breaths to calm our mind and prepare us for this mornings discipline.

MUSIC FOR A NEW DAY

I personally like to have some soft music in the background, so if that’s something you like as well below you will find a song you can play for the duration of our time together.

PRAYER For Being Present

Now that we’re calm, let us transition to a time of prayer. Over the next few minutes you can pray on your own or feel free to use the following prayer:

God, I need Your help.

I can’t seem to shake all the things in my past. In my mind, I keep bringing up all the bad things I’ve done, even as I know You’ve forgiven me for them.

I know scripture says You forget, but I just seem to focus on my past so much that I can’t even enjoy the present moment. I certainly don’t have much energy left to consider the future, that’s for sure! I’m praying to You because I don’t want to get stuck in the past. I want to do like the song says and turn my eyes upon Jesus.

I’d like to be able to focus on today, on what’s happening right now. I can’t dwell in the past, as it’s already past. It’s done and gone. Help me let go of the past and redirect my focus on right now.

I ask this in the name of Jesus Christ,

Amen

Prayer to Not Focus on the Past | Grace & Prayers (Pray without ceasing)

AFFIRMATIONS for Being Present

Here are a few affirmations for this morning that you can put in your pocket and carry with you throughout your day.

As you read through them, repeat each one out loud at least three times before moving to the next. Take your time. Close your eyes and say them to yourself as well. Let these words sink into your heart and mind this morning:

1. I am fully alive in the present moment.
2. I am prepared and excited to fully live this day.
3. I am grateful for the present moment.
4. I am fully present.

SCRIPTURES For Being Present

As Christians, our affirmations should be rooted in the strength and power of God who empowers us and strengthens us to face every trial and every day (both good and bad).

Here are some scriptures that further support the affirmations we just spoke to ourselves. Again, repeat each one three times out loud before moving to the next one. Take your time. Maybe try to commit these to memory as well:

1. Matthew 6:34, “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.”
2. Hebrews 13:5, “Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have, for he has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.'”
3. James 4:14, “Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.”
4. Romans 15:13, “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.”

TODAYS CHALLENGE

Our challenge today is this: don’t dwell on what happened in the past or what should be, but be present in what is.

Yesterday we talked about appreciating the past (good or bad) and appreciating it because it has brought us to today. The danger, however, of looking back at the past is that we can get stuck living in the past and wishing things were different today.

Here’s a hard truth though, we are not able to time travel and today is all that we are guaranteed to have.

Instead of wishing for what can never be, we have to be present in what is and enjoy where we are. Why? Because yesterday is gone and tomorrow is not promised.

Here is what I am not saying…I’m not saying you weren’t wronged in the past. I’m not saying that your today could’ve been different had things yesterday gone differently. I’m not saying that the times you experienced and enjoyed in the past weren’t good.

What I am saying is the only time we have to live is now. If we are focusing all our time and mental efforts on grumbling about the past and how things COULD or SHOULD be today, or wishing we could go back to “how things were”, we’ll miss out on the beautiful moments right in front of us now.

So like we discussed yesterday, appreciate the past for the path and journey it has taken you. But don’t live there. Be present IN the present. Soak up the moments you are currently living. Put down your phone and stop doom scrolling for a minute and soak up the moments you are currently living.

There are people right in front of you that you may be missing out on. Your children, your spouse, your grandchildren, your friends, your extended family, your neighbors, your co-workers, and more.

There are beautiful moments you may be missing out on: birthdays, sunsets, sunrises, a cool breeze, a cloud shaped like Snoopy, a warm conversation, a hot cup of coffee, the shade on a hot day, the sound of children laughing…you name it.

Don’t let another moment today pass you by. Be present in the present.

Quote of the Day

I also wanted to include a little quote of the day that maybe you’ll find some inspiration in as well.

Today’s quote comes from author and therapist Shannon L. Alder, who said:

The true definition of mental illness is when the majority of your time is spent in the past or future, but rarely living in the realism of NOW.”

Shannon L. Alder

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