We are creatures of habit. Just notice where you sit in church. Most of the time, it’s the same place you’ve been sitting since — forever! There’s no doubt that we find comfort in routine. That’s true of humanity as a whole and it doesn’t matter who you are. Just consider some peculiar morning routines of some of our presidents.
John Quincy Adams, the sixth President of the United States, arose at 5:00 a.m. every morning and headed off to the Potomac River. No, he wasn’t going fishing. He would skinny dip in the frigid waters. Adams felt invigorated by the icy waters, believing they helped him focus. Unfortunately, a female reporter was focused on meeting with him and held his clothes hostage one day. The ransom to be paid was an interview. Fully clothed, of course!
William Howard Taft stood 6 feet tall and tipped the scales at 340 pounds. He was the heaviest president we’ve ever had. There are stories about him getting stuck in the White House bath tub as well as other stories generated because of his girth. If you wonder how he could have gotten so large, part of it might have come from his daily morning routine. “The 27th president kicked off his days with a “thick, juicy 12-ounce steak” at around 8:30 a.m. nearly every morning. And while the grand portion of beef was no doubt the star of the show, it was served alongside two oranges, buttered toast, and a “vast quantity of coffee, with cream and sugar.”1
Then there’s Calvin Coolidge. If you’ve ever seen a picture of him, his hair is always slick and shiny. While eating his breakfast each morning, his staff massaged his scalp and hair with petroleum jelly. Every morning during his presidency, someone had the unenviable duty of giving his head a lube and oil change!
Harry S. Truman started his morning with a shot of bourbon followed by a glass of orange juice. While you may think he must’ve been an alcoholic to do this, he was actually following his doctor’s orders.2
Nothing, though, beats the morning routine of Bill Clinton. Whenever he could, he started the morning jogging. With his Secret Service detail jogging along as well, Clinton knew exactly where he was headed. He was looking for a McDonalds where he would stop in for a breakfast sandwich and fries. Now, we all know that fries are not on the
McDonalds breakfast menu. But when the President of the United States wants a large order of greasy, soggy McDonalds fries to go with his jog back to the White House, he gets them.
What’s your morning routine? I would dare suggest that you do the exact same thing nearly every day. From the moment the alarm goes off, routine takes over. You have an order of how you do things in the bathroom. Each item of clothing goes on in the same order. It’s always the same leg that goes into the pants first. If you drink coffee, your routine dictates when and where the coffee is made.
Here’s something else that needs to be a part of our morning routine. Psalms 5:3 says, “My voice shalt thou hear in the morning, O LORD; in the morning will I direct my prayer unto thee, and will look up.” How long does it take you once you are awake to acknowledge the Lord and call out to Him? Praying early is something we are encouraged to do.
Psalms 63:1 A Psalm of David, when he was in the wilderness of Judah. O God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee: my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.
Psalms 88:13 But unto thee have I cried, O LORD; and in the morning shall my prayer prevent (pre-event; to do something before) thee.
Jesus set the example in Mark 1:35. “And in the morning, rising up a great while before day, he went out, and departed into a solitary place, and there prayed.”
Not only is there the call to early prayer, there is the call to being in God’s Word. Psalms 119:147 says, “I prevented (pre-event; to do something before) the dawning of the morning, and cried: I hoped in thy word.” We need God’s instructions and guidance for the day.
Finally, we need to routinely begin the day by praising the Lord. Those first words uttered in prayer can be words of thanksgiving and appreciation for the God who loves us and has supplied us with a new day full of new opportunities. Let your tomorrows begin this way.
“Awake up, my glory; awake, psaltery and harp: I myself will awake early. (9) I will praise thee, O Lord, among the people: I will sing unto thee among the nations.” (Psalms 57:8-9)
1www.tastingtable.com/1603880/president-taft-favorite-breakfast-steak/
2https://www.mentalfloss.com/history/presidents/unusual-morning-routines-u-s-presidents
Images are taken from https://pixabay.com/, https://www.pexels.com/, or https://unsplash.com/images or created in Windows Copilot. According to the websites, they are Royalty Free and free to be used for our purposes.
