The problem with your to-do list.

I've been checking everything off lately. So why am I struggling?

My alarm goes off at 6am these days.

I check my phone (although I’m trying to do this less).

I turn my sound machine off.

I pull the covers back and head for the bedroom door.

I greet my kids who have already been up for at least an hour.

I make my coffee.

I check my phone again.

I talk with my wife.

I take the kids to school.

I come home and start my abiding time with God.

I pray. I journal. I write.

Then I “start” my work day.

Does anything in that sequence seem off to you? This isn’t a trick question. But I think if you look at my above morning routine you’d probably say, “Looks pretty good. Maybe cut back on the phone time, but otherwise that’s a nice start.”

And on the surface you’d be right.

But God looks at, and works, below the surface. And so this is where I need to come clean about something. It’s not fun. But I’ve committed to being radically vulnerable with you, and so here it goes. My hunch is there are more than a few struggling with the same thing: