I recently read one of those post sharing tips and thoughts on making your days better and more productive. One of the items was “Dressing for the kind of day you’d like to have.”
My first thought was “How do I dress for a day that I don’t want to get puked, pooped or peed on?” (As a mom those days are sometimes few and far between)
It is very good, practical advice. Days that I get out of my pajamas or strap on one of my aprons I am more productive. It really helps me get into a different mindset. On rainy days, you want to stay dry, so you put on a rain coat and carry an umbrella.
Thinking about it more, I remembered this verse.
To grant to those who mourn in Zion—
to give them a beautiful headdress instead of ashes,
the oil of gladness instead of mourning,
the garment of praise instead of a faint spirit;
that they may be called oaks of righteousness,
the planting of the Lord, that he may be glorified.
Isaiah 61:3
God will give us a garment of praise for a faint spirit. We have to make the conscious effort to put it on. A gift is not useful until you accept it and take possession of it. Remember that rainy day? If we want to be prepared to face the day, we need to put on the garment of praise.
We need to put on the garment of praise. Change the way we are thinking and refocus.
Some things I know help me are:
- Starting the day with prayer, especially of thanksgiving. When we are looking for things to be thankful for we look for them through the day and not reasons to be upset, our attitude is much more positive. Need to focus on Thankfulness? Check out this Challenge for Thanksgiving Any Time of the Year.
- Getting in the Word as soon as possible, even if it is just reading it aloud to the kids as we finish breakfast. I have been trying to read when the kids are finishing up meals.
- Listening to worship music though the day, especially when cleaning. I share more about this in my own post on Tips for a More Productive Day.
How do you put on a ‘garment of praise’?
There are a few other Scriptures that reference putting things on. One is Putting on Love. In other places Scripture talks about Gracefilled Speech, Being Peculiar, and Getting Drunk.
Timeless Mama 
What a wonderful way of looking at our “wardrobe” and how it affects our day! I scan through my thoughts and focus on all the things I am grateful for… Phil 4:8. It always helps my day shift with more productive and positive intention!
I would agree with you on getting into the word, first thing in the morning!
i’m working on starting my day with prayer….
Starting our day with prayer and getting in the word is so important. Honestly, I often fall short of that and pay for it. So thankful His mercies and grace are there for me.
Love love love this. Just what I needed to read. I love your tips too. One thing that I do that has been helpful is to put scripture up around my house. I printed off cute memes and graphs that I found on Pinterest and tacked them to my walls in the different rooms.
I do this too. My microwave is covered in Scriptures I’ve found powerful. My microwave puts it right at eye level so while I am cooking dinner I can soak it in.
This is fantastic! I have a daughter leaving in the fall for college. It is so easy to have a pity party instead of praising God that she is mentally, physically and spiritually healthy. That He has been her God and her focus. I’ll miss her but I need to focus on the praise!