Are you so rushed during the day that you find it hard to take even a few minutes to spend with God? Many people set aside time in the early morning before they get caught up in the hectic pace of the day.

I read about a very busy man who somehow manages to find time for giving the day a spiritual jump-start. He's Dr. Ben Carson, chief of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins Children's Center, a position he assumed in 1984 when he was only 33 years old.

Here's Carson's testimony about the value of putting spiritual things first: "I've found that having a morning ritual—meditation or some quiet reading time—can set the tone for the whole day. Every morning, I spend a half-hour reading the Bible, especially the book of Proverbs. There's so much wisdom there. During the day, if I encounter a frustrating situation, I think back to one of the verses that I read that morning."

Jesus faced busy days filled with demanding crowds of people. In Mark's gospel we read, "In the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed" (1:35).

Do you take time to read God's Word and pray? Try it in the morning. It can transform your day.  — Vernon C. Grounds