Small Goals to Reach Big Dreams

But as for you, be strong and do not give up, for your work will be rewarded. 

– 2 Chronicles 15:7

Reading Daniel Pink’s book When: The Scientific Secrets of Perfect Timing, I found myself identifying with one  finding of his research. Pink discovered that people who are in the last year of a decade, such as 29, 39, 49, 59, or 69 years of age, have an increased rate of attempting challenging goals, such as running their first marathon. 

Today, I turn one of those 9’s, and strangely enough, I feel the pressure to set a gigantic goal for the next 365 days. I promise you I won’t be running a marathon. Been there, done that, and happy to have thrown in the towel many years ago. But from running The New York City and Vermont City Marathons (in my 20’s and 30’s), I better understand how we achieve a goal that at first appears impossible: set smaller goals that eventually lead to a bigger end result. 

I’ll never forget the day I ran 10 miles for the first time. As I rounded the final corner to home, I heard my husband holler a joyous congratulations. Beaming, I remember thinking to myself, “If I can run 10 miles, then I can definitely finish a half marathon. I’m halfway there!”

No matter your age, I believe God wants you to press on in your faith and set small spiritual goals that eventually lead to huge change in your life. Here are two examples of people who set small goals that led to significant change.

• Mary set her alarm to go off 30 minutes before the kids woke up. She chose to spend her first moments of the day with God in prayer. At lunchtime when her kids are fighting, her first response is to pray to God for guidance and peace. The kids wonder why moms not yelling at them like she usually does.

• Dave decides to listen to praise music instead of talk radio in the morning on his way to work. A familiar homeless man catches Dave’s eye. Instead of being annoyed by the man’s interruption, Dave rolls down his window and offers his banana. To Dave’s surprise, the homeless man looks intently into his eyes and says, “What you do for the least of these, you do for Jesus.” How could the man have known those lyrics had just been sung?

So what small goal can you set for yourself this week? Think about one step of faith God might be prompting you to take. Write it down so you remember. This simple act increases your chances of accomplishing it. Then grab your calendar and carve out time to work on your goal. Tell someone who cares about you what you’ve set your mind to complete. Ask God to strengthen you and help you reach your goal. When you achieve it, celebrate and stretch towards the next one. In a short time, you’ll start to see big differences in your life. All by taking small steps of faith. 

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World

Thank you for being a part of The 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Step Into Esther's Shoes

Esther had kept secret her family background and nationality just as Mordecai had told her to do, for she continued to follow Mordecai’s instructions as she had done when he was bringing her up. – Esther 2:20

Step into Esther’s shoes for just a moment. Imagine what it would be like to be an orphan after both your parents die. Not long after that, you’re adopted by your uncle Mordecai who raises you in the Jewish faith. Later as a young woman, you’re taken to the King’s palace because your beauty and virginity are noticed by the King’s officials. You find yourself undergoing an entire year of “beauty treatments” before being called to spend one night with the king. That night changes your life forever when the King places the queen’s crown upon your head. As the new Queen of Persia, a banquet is thrown in your honor but your faith and true identity still remain a secret. 

When should we keep a secret? When should we tell our secrets to others? Are some secrets “good,” and others “bad”? Could secrets really be lies in disguise?

Years ago, a close friend shared a painful family secret with me. This secret had left several generations of women scarred and broken. It’s a secret unfortunately far too familiar to many girls growing up in America. One man; a grandfather, father, uncle or brother, inappropriately touches the girls in his family. But for some reason none of them talk about it with each other, so the secrecy lives on and more girls are abused. 

Why is that? Could it be that the enemy works hard to convince us that shameful secrets are better kept hidden than shared? 

In the Bible, Esther knew what it was like to keep secrets. Mordecai raised Esther to be proud of her Jewish heritage, but asked that she keep it a secret from the her husband, King Xerxes. It was not until Esther learned of a plot to kill all the Jews in her land that she gathered the courage to share her secret with the King. She bravely decided, “If I perish, I perish.” (Esther 4:16)

Once the King knew Esther’s secret, her true identity, he issued a decree to protect the Jewish people. Esther is forever remembered in Biblical history for being a hero, because she told her secret with faith, courage, and for a much greater purpose than herself. 

God is our King and He already knows all our secrets. Nothing is hidden from Him. Yet He still calls us His daughters and sons and loves us unconditionally.  

Sometimes He calls us to share our secrets with others who have the power to help.  

If God is nudging you to share a secret, then like Esther, gather the courage to say “For such a time as this,” and tell it for the good of yourself and others.

Be brave. When we share our secrets with our King and others who can help, goodness can bind-up the brokenness, and scars can start to heal. 

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

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One Step Up and Two Steps Back

He who began a good work in you, will be faithful to complete it. – Philippians 1:6

Have you ever been in a “one step forward, two steps back” mode?

Last summer, I set out to learn how to mountain bike.  I was actually making great progress, getting fitter and more confident on the trails.  I had almost mastered a safe dismount… almost!  That progress came to a screeching halt when I “turtled” on a trail in Crested Butte.

You might not know what “turtle” means.  I certainly didn’t, until my husband explained it to me as I lay crumpled on the ground under my bike.  I had been riding down the mountain and knew I needed to stop before a sharp turn.  As I tried to unclip my biking shoe from the pedal, it wouldn’t budge.  In the fraction of a second I had left to remain upright, I frantically twisted it this way and that.  But I stayed stuck, and gravity took over.  I hit the turn, the wheels went out from under me, and I landed on my back (with my feet still in the pedals).  Imagine the ugliest turtle possible. I’m sure it looks a lot cuter than I did at the time.

After the crash, I didn’t go near the bike.  Every day I lost ground on my goal and grew more out of shape.  

How often do we feel exactly like this in our faith?

We take two steps forward and read God’s Word faithfully for a week.  Then we become so busy, we hit the ground running in the morning and forget for a month to crack open our Bible.  Or we pray to God and commit to cut all gossip out of our conversations.  Then we go out to dinner with friends, gossip like there’s no tomorrow, and wake up the next day with a guilt hang-over.

Thankfully, God knows we’re on a journey with Him and not all of our steps are wise, good, or beneficial.  That’s why He promises us, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” (Phil. 1:6)  God did not say YOU began the good work or YOU are faithful to complete it.  Instead He says HE did and HE will.

This promise reminds us of important truths to hold onto while we’re reaching out to know God more in a crazy busy, fast paced culture.  

• The good work God planned for all people began the moment Jesus died on the cross.  Do you remember what time Jesus breathed His last breath?  Yes, 3pm!  What an incredible reason to say, “Thank You!”

• The good work in you started the exact moment you believed Jesus was indeed your Savior.  Jesus then placed His Spirit in you. What a gift to be thankful for.

• The Holy Spirit in you will be faithful no matter how faith-filled you are today or tomorrow.  Thankfully, God’s power through His Spirit never gives up on us.  The Spirit of God continues to help us to become more like Jesus over time. 

• The work of the Holy Spirit in you is on-going and won’t be complete until you see Jesus face to face.  We can rejoice that in the end, we will be able to look back and see progress.

Yes, He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it!  Let’s trust in God who is faithful.  And let’s give thanks to God whose Spirit is alive and active in us completely all the good works He has planned.  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a Part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Walk of Shame

As far as the east is from the west, so far has God removed our transgressions from us.

Psalm 103:12

One morning while driving my kids to school, I saw her.  Disheveled and barefoot in a rumpled purple cocktail dress, high-heeled black pumps dangling from one hand, she walked up the hill on 9^th Street in Boulder near CU.  Snapshots of her night filled my mind: a fraternity party, lots of drinking and dancing, a cute guy flirting, telling her she’s beautiful, innocent kissing at first, then lights out, nakedness, finally sleep.  With the morning light, eyes pop open, pounding headache, find the dress, grab the shoes, and hurry out... try hard to forget the night. 

Everything inside of me wanted to pull over and invite the young college woman to sit next to me in the passenger seat.  I’d drive her home so no one would see her “walk of shame.”  My heart ached for a total stranger because I knew her heart was saturated with shame. 

If I could climb to the roof of the tallest building of any college campus, I’d yell “What you do in college, you will remember for the rest of your life!” 

Don’t you wish that when God gave you grace, He also handed you a delete button to wipe away all the sinful memories of your past?  I don’t know about you, but I find it easier to accept forgiveness from God than to grant it to myself.

Recently, while listening to a pastor preach on David’s shameful past, I saw other snapshots in my mind.  Bathsheba taking a cleansing bath on her roof top. David spying her beauty from afar.  David sending a servant to bring Bathsheba close.  A secret night together.  A child conceived.  David plotting to cover up his tracks.  Bathsheba’s husband being killed in battle.  David thinking he’d gotten away with it.  Nathan the prophet confronting David.  David crying out to God for forgiveness.  

When you mess up or hurt others, do you quickly run to God and ask for forgiveness?  Or do you beat yourself up over and over again because you think you deserve it?

God promises that when we confess our sins to Him, He will remove our sins as far as the east is from the west (Psalm 103:12).  Guess who wrote that Psalm?  You got it, David.  David knew personally how miserable we’d become if we tried to cover up or ignore our mistakes.  God used David’s deep shame for good so we’d learn to go straight to Him for forgiveness.  Once we accept God’s forgiveness, we can ask Him to help us forgive ourselves. 

When Jesus died on the cross at 3pm, He stretched His arms out to the east and to the west.  Jesus endured great pain to set us free from guilt and shame.  He now calls us to forgive ourselves.

No more “walks of shame.”  Instead let’s walk with Jesus, thanking Him for setting us free and showing us the way to truly forgive ourselves.  

So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. – John 8:36

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

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Blaze a Trail

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. 

– Proverbs 13:20

As you may know, I live in the mountains just outside of Boulder, Colorado. So when I leave my driveway for a hike, I have two options: go up or go down. I usually choose to go up first, so that when exhaustion sets in (as it usually does quickly), downward momentum gets me back home. 

This has been an extremely hot, dry summer, so if I don’t go out early in the morning, I usually won’t go at all. In addition, between the high altitude, intense sun, and minimal shade, I’m taking lots of shortcuts. 

If I duck into the woods, not only do I shave ten minutes off my walking time, I’m rewarded with cool shade and blooming wildflowers. Last week, I noticed that I’ve been taking this shortcut so often that I’ve worn a path into the forest floor.

It reminds me that how we walk, and who we walk with, is incredibly important to God. He tells us to walk with the wise so we will become wise and warns us not to walk with fools or we will surely suffer harm (Proverbs 13:20). 

Ask yourself, where am I walking every day? Who am I walking with? Am I walking with wise ones who know God’s truths, or fools doing whatever they see fit? Am I creating pathways in my brain that are positive, uplifting and praiseworthy? Or is negativity holding me back?

Yes, you have the opportunity to choose the trails you blaze. This week, be a trail blazer that pleases God!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World

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Who's Counting?

Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me?  Up to seven times?”  Jesus answered, “I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.” – Matthew 18:21-22

Are you like me in that when someone hurts your feelings, your thoughts stop in their tracks, your tongue gets tied, and your heart twists until it hurts?  It’s one of the few times that I find myself speechless. 

How do you respond when someone tells lies about you, ignores your pleas for help, or leaves you out on purpose?  Most likely, you feel hurt.  We all walk through this life being hurt… far too many times to count, it turns out.  

In these painful moments, when forgiveness is needed the most, I find that it is the hardest to give. 

But think for a second how many times God has forgiven you for all the mistakes you’ve made, both big and small.  Too many times to count, right?  

In Matthew 18, Jesus told Peter about a King who wanted to settle his financial accounts.  The King summoned a man who owed him a debt worth millions in today’s dollars, and told him to repay it immediately or he and his family would be sold into slavery.  The man fell to his knees and begged for the King’s mercy.  The King took pity on the man, cancelled all his debt, and set him free.  Right after this, the forgiven man found another person who owed him just a few dollars.  He demanded repayment.  When he was asked to show mercy and forgive this small debt, he refused and had his debtor thrown into jail.  When the King heard what had happened he said, “I cancelled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?” 

As the first man owed a debt too large to ever pay back, our sins may seem too numerous to forgive.  We’ve messed up millions of times.  Yet our Heavenly Father still forgives us.  As we’ve been forgiven, so should we too forgive.  But that’s a lot easier said than done.  What if the next time you’re wronged you…?

• Remember all the times God had forgiven you.
• Remain calm and look at things from the other person’s point of view.
• Request God’s help to forgive and set you both free.

Forgiveness may be hard, but the drawbacks of not forgiving are far worse.  Un-forgiveness makes us slaves to bitterness, revenge, and anger.  We become prisoners to the very emotions God, our King of Kings, wants to free us from.  Who do you need to forgive today, for the seventy-seventh time?  

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a Part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Peace In A Crazy-Paced Culture

Jesus promised, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. 

In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” 

– John 16:33  

We live in a “microwave age.” If we need information, it’s one click away on our phone. If we’re hungry, we want to grab food and go. And if we’re in a hurry, which happens every day, we want everyone around us to speed it up and get out of our way. We wonder, “Don’t they have places to go and people to see?”

Jesus lived during a time when meat was slow cooked over a fire and people lounged at the dinner table for hours. I imagine it must have been a lot easier for His disciples to relax and wait than it is for us today. 

I wonder how Jesus would handle our fast paced culture if He arrived on Earth today. Imagine Jesus walking around with you during a typical, crazy paced day.

Do you think Jesus would jump right into your over-packed schedule and tag along as you ran from place to place? Would He heal, help, and love all those around Him wherever you went? Would He invite you to slow down and sit awhile with Him? Then would you experience His peace in the midst of chaos?

Hebrews 13:8 tells us, Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever. So the answer is YES. Jesus would meet us right in the middle of our chaos and change the coarse of our days. Boy do I need that!

It seems to me that every day ends with an incomplete “To Do” list. I’ve checked off a few things but more remains undone. I didn’t get around to calling her back so we could make plans. The pharmacy will call again tomorrow reminding me to pick up the medication. And I forgot to call to set up the repairs our refrigerator needs. So many calls to make; but not enough hours in the day to make them.

That’s why I’m so thankful Jesus calls me every day through my 3 O’Clock Wake Up Call. 

Faithfully and consistently, every day at 3:00pm my alarm and phone remind me that no matter how busy I am or what mess I’ve gotten myself in, Jesus is still with me and God still loves me. Being reminded of these everlasting truths, brings peace into the middle of my day. I hope it does you too. 

The pace of our culture keeps getting faster and faster. Busyness is our “new normal”, and exhaustion is often our constant companion. But Jesus’ desires haven’t changed over two thousand years. He wanted His disciples to experience the supernatural peace He provides. He wants the same for you today.

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank you for being a part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

She Did What She Could

Jesus said, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” – Mark 14:8-9

Running along a country road in Maine, I passed an old cemetery. I hadn’t planned to stop, but I quickly found myself mesmerized by the writing on the tombstones. Walking the grassy pathways, I saw whole families buried together, revealing a story of what life was like one hundred and fifty years ago. 

Tiny stones, engraved with the initials of babies who never made it to their first birthdays, lay next their parents’ larger ones. Further down the row were sons in their early twenties who fought in World War II, young men who never made it home to marry or start a family of their own. 

As I counted the children lost by Moses and Mary Harriman, an unthinkable toll in today’s world of modern medicine and relative safety, I wondered how I would feel in their place. Was it easier for them? Were they hardened to it? I was hit with the realization that we would have felt the same way. Sorrow is timeless. 

Empathy welled up in my heart for a mother I’d never known. I went back down the row and read each child’s name again. I stopped at a badly weathered headstone, was her name Caroline or Carolina? She was born in 1869 (exactly 100 years before me) and she died just twenty-seven years later. I wondered why. Was it during childbirth, from disease, or an accident? I knew nothing about her, but when my eyes fell on what her parents had engraved, I admired her immediately.

She Did What She Could

Jesus spoke those exact words over Mary, Martha and Lazarus’ sister after the disciples criticized her for pouring expensive perfume over Jesus’ head and feet. (Mark 14:3-9) Jesus stood up for Mary and defended her act of lavish love and pure devotion. She will always be remembered as the woman who prepared Jesus’ body for the cross. 

Yes, the perfume was costly, but Mary had the resources to purchase it. Yes, the act of obedience was ridiculed, but Mary stepped forward anyway. She used her resources and what was in her hands to bless Jesus and confess her faith and adoration in public.

Could it be said of you, “She did what she could”?

• Are you using the resources God has given you to bless Jesus and others?
• Are you utilizing what’s in your hand, your strengths and talents, for God’s glory?

I see women today doing exactly what God designed them to do. Susan generously cooks for Attentions Homes, a home for at risk teens. Cheri lovingly mentors young women through MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers. And Mo joyfully checks kids at church then cleans whatever needs to be cleaned in the café. All three women are using their gifts from God to bless others and glorify God.

Today ask yourself… When my life is over, will it be said of me that I did what I could? It’s never too late. Start now and the answer will certainly be, YES!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World

Thank you for being a part of The 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

Teachable Moments

Encourage one another and build each other up. – 1 Thessalonians 5:11

A young teacher in the 1950’s was thinking of creative ways to keep her classroom quiet, focused, and learning.  One little boy named Mark was particularly talkative.  Nothing the young teacher did seemed to decrease Mark’s off-task chatter.  Every time the teacher asked Mark to stop talking, he’d respectful reply, “Thank you for correcting me.” Mark would remain quiet for a few minutes but would always go back to chatting.  This went on for weeks.  Finally, at her wits end, the young teacher told Mark she’d tape his mouth closed if he didn’t “Shhhhh!”  

Less than three minutes passed when Mark’s best friend Chuck blurted out, “Mark’s talking again.”  The teacher had no choice.  She opened her desk drawer, removed a thick roll of masking tape, walked to Mark’s desk, and proceeded to tape a large X over Mark’s mouth.  As she returned to the front of the classroom to continue her lesson, she couldn’t hold it in any longer and burst out laughing.  Then the whole class joined her. Once she removed the X from Mark’s mouth, he politely said, “Thank you for correcting me.”  This only caused more laughter to erupt in the room.

Years later this same teacher was teaching older students “New Math.”  She had many of her same students again including Mark and Chuck. One day when she could tell that her students were extremely frustrated with the lesson, she thought of a creative way to change the mood.  She asked the students to close their textbooks, take out a blank sheet of paper and write every person’s name down the left side of the page.  Then she asked them to think of the nicest thing they could say about each one of their classmates and write it next to their name.  As the teacher collected the completed assignment, Chuck handed his in with a huge smiling and Mark said, “Thank you for teaching me.”

The teacher spent the weekend compiling the papers and, on Monday, she gave each student the kind words the others had written specifically for them.  As the students quietly read their papers, she watched serious faces turn into huge smiles.  Comments and whispers were spoken, “I can’t believe it.  That’s so nice.  Thank you. Wow, I’m really liked after all!” 

Years passed and the teacher moved away from her hometown.  One weekend she returned to visit her family.  While home, her parents broke the terrible news that Mark had been killed in Vietnam.  Mark’s parents were hoping that she’d attend his funeral the next day.  The teacher sadly agreed.

At Mark’s funeral, one of the servicemen who had helped carry Mark’s coffin approached the teacher and asked if she’d taught Mark in school.  When she nodded, he said, “Mark spoke very highly of you.”  She quietly thanked him for his service and his kind words.  As she turned to leave, Mark’s parents and several classmates walked her way.  Mark’s father reached in his pocket and removed a folded, taped-up piece of paper.  As he carefully opened it, the teacher immediately recognized her handwriting.  Mark’s father said, “They found this on Mark when he was killed in battle.”  

One by one Mark’s classmates shared how they’d kept their own pages ever since.  Chuck kept his in his wallet.  Others kept theirs in a top desk drawer, tucked safely in their diary, or even framed in a wedding album. Everyone was thankful for the creative and kind way she had taught them about themselves.  If Mark had been there, surely he would have said, “Thank you for teaching us to be kind to one another.”

This young teacher had taught lessons of kindness that lasted well beyond that day’s class.  It had affected people’s lives.

As a third generation teacher, I don’t necessarily remember the math units I’ve taught.  But I do remember the friendships I’ve helped kindle, the encouragement I’ve given to special needs children, and the love I’ve shared with students going through difficult times.  

Jesus is our teacher. When he was asked what was the most important commandment from God. Jesus replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.” (Matthew 22:37-39) Our lives are to be led by love.  Love God and love others.  

Jesus’ lesson is simple: encourage one another and build each other up (1 Thessalonians 5:11).  Like a great teacher does, Jesus makes it clear what we are to do and draws us into the creative process.   

How will you create lasting memories of kindness, encouragement, or love that lifts others up?  This week, how will you turn serious faces to huge smiles?  When you do, don’t be surprised when you hear “Thank you for...”

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a Part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement

(I re-told this story, “All Good Things,” which was written by Sister Helen P. Mrosla. It has been published in, among other places, Proteus, Readers Digest, Chicken Soup for the Soul, and Stories for the Heart.)

Dream Big. Love Bigger!

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him. 

– 1 Corinthians 2:9

Do you have larger than life dreams?  So big that you’re afraid to say them out loud for fear of people thinking you’re crazy?

I’ve been watching the Tour de France bike race with my daughter and husband this week.  Racing 2,200 miles over 21 days is grueling.  You can actually see the riders get thinner and thinner over the weeks.  The difficulties of the race, however, pale in comparison to the sacrifices the riders make throughout the rest of the year training for it.  They’ll spent thousands of hours on the bike, often alone and in bad weather, dreaming of one day crossing the finish line and wearing the winner’s yellow jersey.

You’re probably not thinking of competing in The Tour, but God has bigger dreams and plans for you than you can imagine. God promises that “No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived the things God has prepared for those who love Him.” (1 Cor. 2:9).

The critical question is not whether God has great dreams for you. He does. Rather, it is…Do you love Him?  Dreaming is easy, but loving an invisible God can be difficult at times.  Our relationship with God is no different than our close relationships with family and friends.  

We demonstrate our love to others, and to God by:

• Spending time together.
• Speaking our love.
• Serving them.

It takes all three to enrich a relationship. If we rarely spend time reading God’s word, praying infrequently, and ignoring His prompts to serve others, then the flame of our relationship will grow dim, or die out completely.  It’s the same for all our relationships.  

This week, make a plan to spend some time alone with God.  Write TWG (Time With God) on your calendar and carve out space to be together. Tell God you love Him at 3pm, and all the other times He comes to mind during your week.  Thank Him for all the wonderful things He’s done for you. When God points out a way for you to step out and serve, move quickly and put your love into action.  

It’s while we’re loving God deeply that He’ll blow our minds with the incredible dreams He has for us.  Dream and love big!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World!

Thank You for Being a Part of the 3 O’Clock Wake Up Movement