Good Morning, Love

What do you do when life throws you curves and you forget to duck? When things don’t seem…fair. We’ve all been there. We’ve had those days that are plain ole’ poopy and things just aren’t swinging your way. I hate those days. On days like that I can’t wait for my head to hit the pillow and to wake up to a fresh start the next morning. I take a hot shower; massage my favorite Moroccan oil into my hair, slip on my silky soft Aerie sleep shirt, and lather on my Nighttime Tea body lotion. Yes, mmhmm I’m feeling better already! Next thing you know…you’re greeted by the sunshine peeking through your blinds and you say hello to a new day!

Mornings are awesome!! For some reason, in the last year I’m finding mornings have been a bit more challenging. It’s a little strange for me. I’m all like…mornings, you and I have ALWAYS had a great relationship! What gives?! (Working out early with Kirby seems to be helping, it’s all about routine people) My love for mornings goes way back though. In middle school I woke up once at 5:50am and went for a run. The fresh air and stillness do something to me. I love the feeling of being up before everyone else wakes up; it’s invigorating. [Small detail, didn’t mention my little run got back to my mom and got in HUGE trouble!] I also did this weird thing all too often where I was so worried about oversleeping for school that I would wake up thinking my alarm went off and go take a shower not realizing that it was only 2am…

Mornings are so consistent though right? …even if life isn’t consistent. …even if you just had your worst day ever. The sun always rises again. A new day inevitably comes and if you’re awake to see, God puts on a show like you wouldn’t believe. Just like the sun never ceases to rise, neither does God’s love for you. Every morning when you lift your sleepy head off the pillow, His mercies are new for you. A new day, new mercies. That means that God’s compassion and forgiveness is new for you each day. What a great promise!

Lamentations 3:22-23 says, “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.”

What would it be like if your boyfriend or husband greeted you in the morning with a bouquet of fresh flowers, coffee, and note saying, “good morning, love”…I mean some may even be fine with a text! Like me though, that gesture would make you feel so, so loved. That’s what’s amazing about God. He paints you a Vincent Van Gogh worthy sunrise just to say, “good morning, love”.

No matter what you’re going through and no matter how awful or wonderful your day might have been, when you wake in the morning God makes it new. He can’t change what happened yesterday, but he can renew your hearts ability to show new mercy and forgiveness to others setting you up for a better day.

Thank you for reading and keeping up with me on here. Since I love you guys so much I’m including the recipe I’ve been starting to use as a morning pick-me-up along with a few of my favorite things that help me wind down and feel pampered at night.

Iced Caramel Macchiato

1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. of vanilla syrup
1 cup ice cubes, large
1 cup milk, cold or half and half
2 shots of espresso (I just used Starbucks cold brew coffee, found in the refrigeration section of the grocery store)
1 tbsp. and 1 tsp. of caramel sauce
Plastic cups and straws

In a cup, add in the vanilla syrup then the ice, cold milk, and espresso. Drizzle caramel sauce over the top and serve! Stir before drinking:)

Vanilla Syrup

1 cup water
2/3 cup granulated sugar
1/3 cup of light brown sugar
Pinch of salt
2 tsp. vanilla extract

In a thick-bottomed sauce pan, add sugar, brown sugar, the pinch of salt, and water. Over medium-high heat, slowly stir until the sugar is completely dissolved. When the syrup reaches full boil with big bubbles, just let it boil for about five minutes (stirring constantly so it won’t burn). Reducing the syrup by boiling will make it thicker.

Remove the pan from the heat and let it cool for about 30 minutes. Stir in 2 tsp. of vanilla extract until combined. I store mine in a capped mason jar in my pantry.