routines
We are into our second week of back to school at our house. Sophia goes to school all year, but my wife Amy and my daughter Lydia are now back in school after a very busy yet enjoyable summer. For us, the school year means back to more structured routines. For Lydia it is volleyball practice, games, homework, make lunch the night before, setting out clothes before we go to bed, trying to get to bed each night before 9:00 pm, getting up at 5:25 am each morning. For Amy it is about getting papers graded, getting lesson plans done, getting to bed and not staying up too late watching shows on Netflix. For me, as much as I enjoy summer and having Lydia at home, there is a sense of routine that brings order and much needed discipline to my life. For me the evening are about getting Sophia ready for bed, getting her lunch made, getting her in bed at a good time. I’ve been trying to make exercise and eating right a regular part of my morning routine. I’ve been trying to get to bed early as well and have been trying to read more at night and trying not to stay up to late watching a ballgame. Routines, like habits, come in basically two categories, good routines and bad routines/good habits and bad habits.
We are all prone at times to fall into bad routines and bad habits. I’ve had plenty of bad habits and after a while they just bring you down.
Bad routines and bad habits can be hard to break. But for many of us the fall is a great time to try and start or to establish again good routines/good habits. I would invite you to consider worship and bible study and engagement in the ministries of Wright’s Chapel a good habit to pursue this fall.
Some folks have said to me that they don’t want their going to church to simply become a habit. (I think what they are saying is that they don’t want to simply go into worship without any thought or energy behind it and I understand that). On the other hand, I would argue that there are some things in life that are too important to simply leave to chance. We brush our teeth everyday (I hope) and we make good hygiene a habit because it is so important to do that and we don’t want our kids only brushing their teeth or bathing when they feel like it. If our kids only bathed when they felt like it, then for most of them, it is much too late. I would say it is the same with telling our children or our spouse we love them. Do it everyday! We should make saying I love you a habit! Don’t tell your kids or your spouse you love them only when you feel like it. Of course, tell them you love them, when you feel like it, but not only then. It is too important to daily remind our family that we love them, and so we should make it a habit and say it everyday regardless how we feel.
The worship of God, living as a disciple of Jesus, I wold encourage you to make it a good habit. Sure there are going to be different moments in life when we feel the presence of God and want to say Thank You Jesus. But we ought to be making our worship and our life of discipleship a habit that we do every day and not only when we feel like it.
What routines are you looking to start new this fall? What good habits is God calling you to take on? I’d love to hear them!
Peace Charles
