Working 9 to 5

Tumble outta bed and I stumble to the kitchen
Pour myself a cup of ambition
And yawn and stretch and try to come to life
Jump in the shower and the blood starts pumping
Out on the street the traffic's jumping
With folks like me on the job from 9 to 5

That song took off in a big way because it's true of so many people's lives. That's the hamster wheel most people wedged between the dirt and the sky live on. Dolly Parton, the songs author and artist, knew something very different however. She knew that the most important time wasn't 9 to 5 when the music is playing, but from 3 to 7 am, where the quiet remains.

She was an unusually early riser because the world was quiet and she could hear God. Those first few hours were for her spiritual work. She is quoted saying, “Every single day, before I do anything, I wake up and I thank God…” Her mornings mattered. She would go on to describe thanking God for the previous night, asking Him to bless the coming day, asking for guidance about the people and circumstances in her life, and praying that her life would uplift other people and glorify God. She would talk to God like He was her best friend.

"Before daybreak the next morning, Jesus got up and went out to an isolated place to pray." (Mark 1:35) 

How did a young girl with eleven siblings, raised in a one-room cabin, in the foothills of the Great Smoky Mountains become one of the most beloved and successful women on the planet? She talked to God like He was her best friend. And every day, she got up before everybody else, went to a quiet place, and listened.

• If you want a rich, Godly life, make it a priority. Find a quiet place and a quiet time to ingest the word of God and ask him for wisdom, peace and to fill you with love.
• If you want a thriving professional life, jump off the wheel and out of your business cycle regularly and set aside time to think, not just do. Thinking IS working. And while you are at it, seek God's direction and favor.
• If you want a robust marriage and family, take time away from the schedule and the screens to work on it. Pray together, breathe fresh air together, make memories together.
• A healthy body? Yes, that too. You are called the temple of the Holy Spirit. That needs daily maintenance also or the foundation and walls may weaken or crumble.

Mornings mattered to Dolly, and they mattered to Jesus. Shouldn't they matter to you?

Mark Chapter 5 says "But Jesus often withdrew to wilderness for prayer". And Dolly said "I've got to save some of me for me". Where's your quiet place? Are you in it daily? If you don't save some of you for you, you just may run out before you can put it to good use.