“Protein! Get some protein! You cannot leave this house until you eat some turkey sausage or yogurt!”

Not a morning goes by without me hollering these words, or some variation, at my kids as we run around like maniacs each school day. As I try to smear peanut butter on SOMETHING they’re eating or squirt a yogurt tube in the general vicinity of their mouths, they roll their eyes and promise they aren’t hungry.

I know better. Their stomachs might not be growling after they downed a handful of cereal or a piece of toast, but it will be a different story in an hour or two. And then, while they’re expected to pay attention to the math lesson or play nicely with friends, they’re going to need the sustenance that a protein-packed breakfast would have provided.

(In other words, they’re going to get hangry [hungry + angry]!)

I try to prevent this because I know starting the day with a solid breakfast in their stomachs will help both my girls have better days. Days where they can focus and pay attention, where they can follow directions and get along with their friends, where they can run and play and learn.

Just like I know starting the day with a full stomach will result in better days for our family, I know that starting with full hearts is even more important. Left to my own devices, I will sleep until the last minute, then dash through the morning on adrenaline and carbs. I snap at my kids as we run upstairs and downstairs, finding socks and permission slips and hairbrushes, and we run out the door in total chaos.

I’ve known for a long time that starting my day a few minutes earlier to spend time with God makes all the difference in the world. Actually, it makes me a different person, so of course my day looks different! I will admit that, since having kids, my quiet times with the Lord are often rushed and even neglected completely, even though I know in my heart how desperately I need that breath of fresh air that He promises to give us each day.

The faithful love of the Lord never ends! His mercies never cease. Great is his faithfulness; his mercies begin afresh each morning.(Lamentations 3:22-23, NLT)

What I’ve begun to realize this year, as our whole family has worked to develop a better morning routine, is that my kids need that same grounding, that same reminder of God’s faithfulness, that same foundation for their days. They need to consume scripture even more than they need those sausage links I tossed on their plates.

But realizing that and doing something about it are two totally different things. Just ask my New Year’s resolutions to read my Bible every day, circa EVERY YEAR OF MY ADULT LIFE! Thankfully, Minno knows how hard it can be to get your family to sit down for a daily devotion — and they’ve made it incredibly simple. We are LOVING the 5 Minute Family Devotionals at my house, especially “the Jesus ones,” as my toddler calls them.

5 Minute Family Devotionals can truly be completed in five short minutes, but just like a protein bar, those five minutes pack a punch. If you sign up for the emails, it comes straight to your inbox, ready to play anytime you can get your family to settle down for a few minutes! You’ll hear a memory verse, a devotion from your favorite Minno characters, a couple questions you can discuss over breakfast or while packing lunches and a prayer. It’s just that simple — and it’s just that important.

Breakfast might be the most important meal of the day, but I believe these Family Devotionals might be the most important five minutes of our morning!

I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built. (Luke 6:47-48, NLT)

How do you give your kids a good start to each day?

Mary is a writer, speaker, and recovering perfectionist who blogs at Giving Up on Perfect. She lives for good books, spicy queso, and television marathons, but she lives because of God’s grace. Mary writes about her imperfect life with humor and honesty, encouraging women to give up on perfect and get on with life on her blog, and she’s the co-author of Choose Joy: Finding Hope & Purpose When Life Hurts. Mary and her husband live with their two daughters in Kansas City, Missouri.