What is your morning routine right now? Your alarm goes off, you rub the sleep out of your eyes, and you roll out of bed. Do you land on your feet, or do you land on your knees? Something that we Catholics value immensely about the morning routine is the morning offering. It’s an essential part of starting our day off on the right foot.

But are we treating that sacred part of our morning as a spiritual jumpstart or as just another box to check on our to-do list? The morning offering and other morning prayers are intended to set the tone for our days, but they only work if we pray with intention and sincerity.

O Lord, I offer up my thoughts, my words, my joys, and my sorrows from this day in union with the holy sacrifice of the Mass throughout the world, through the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Amen.

Recently on Trending with Timmerie, Timmerie spent a segment talking about the importance of the morning routine and how we can turn the components of prayer, resolution, and habit into a positive pattern in life that leads to happiness.

Timmerie began by reminding her listeners that we are still human. We are still responsible for taking care of our bodies and when we wake up in the morning, we have things to take care of. We need to go to the bathroom, maybe wash our faces or get a glass of water. For some, light exercise might be part of your routine. All of these things that might be necessary for waking ourselves from slumber can serve as reinforcements for our habits of prayer and spiritual well-being.

Let’s say that you know your body best. You know that in the morning, to wake up fully, you need to make your bed, drink a glass of water, and do some light calisthenics. If you begin implementing a morning offering right after that workout, those habits will begin to support each other. Offering your day to Our Lord will become second nature, post-workout.

When you offer up your day and all of its struggles and triumphs, you are far more likely to have the presence of mind to take care of the things that need it before setting off to go to work, school, or to take care of the kids. Spending time with your family, setting your daily schedule, and eating breakfast are all important factors in your morning life. You don’t want to make your bed? You don’t have time to sit in the kitchen with your spouse? You don’t need to schedule your tasks for the day? What about the morning offering you just made? Because of that simple habit, you’re reminded to offer up everything that might come your way.

Timmerie told the story of the progression of her own morning routine. She said that when she was single, she had a rigorous and structured routine of waking up early for 6:30 am Mass, then she would get home and sit down at her desk and start working by 7:30. When she got married, that whole routine changed because of her husband’s schedule. She lost an hour and a half of work time, and she felt like he was to blame.

But soon, she realized that God had introduced this change because of her own shortcomings. She needed to learn to slow down and enjoy the day. Her prayer wasn’t as effective as it could be because she was constantly worried about the things that had to get done. Through habitual changes and flexibility, Timmerie learned to rotate her schedule to match her husband’s.

“Parts of my work routine were good for me. Other parts of my work routine were contributing to some workaholism,” said Timmerie. “And I didn’t realize that until I had someone else living in my space to be a reminder for me. It was a great lesson for me. Marriage really does change you. It should…for the better.”

Timmerie learned, through the modification and restructuring of her morning habits, that she wasn’t maximizing the beginning of her day. Through her marriage, her family was growing, and God was showing her a new facet of her life, her days, and her mornings.

“I’m not telling you to take four hours to get ready. I’m just asking what it is for you that’s going to set your outlook on life; to have a good day and to choose joy. What we do with our daily routine will truly transform how we live day-to-day. And if you try to do it without God, you will not be happy.”

Tune in to Trending with Timmerie weekdays at 6pm CT