Creatures of Habit

And so time keeps passing and writing is not a priority.  I want it to be a priority.  In my happy imaginings I am a writer.  Sadly, in reality I am not doing any writing.  It's difficult for even the greatest imagination to conjure a writer where no writing is taking place.

I've just finished a book, The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg.  It speaks to how strongly routine without concious thought and intentional action controls our everyday behavior.  There are so many every day behaviors that I would like to change.  I'd like to exercise and write.  I'd like to make sweets into special treats not every day expectations.  I'd like to clean house on a routine so that it wasn't overwhelming. I'd like to be encouraging.  That's a lot of change.

The good news is that habits can be changed.    The other good news is one change often leads to other changes. A positive new habit often has a domino effect. One good change leads to other good changes.

As I review my list of things I'd like to change, I think that exercise is the biggest ticket item.  I know it will benefit me.  I know I will like the results.  I know I am stubborn, hate exercise, and need a large push to be successful with this one.  I've failed to incorporate regular exercise into my routine many times before.  I've also been successful many times before.  There are long periods in which exercise was a part of my life.  The trick is to figure out what made exercise stick and what caused that period of routine exercise to be disrupted.

Today is Fat Tuesday.  Tomorrow is the beginning of Lent.  I think this is the perfect time for reflection and concentration on a change of habit.  Turning my physical activity into an act of worship might just be an intentional act I can turn into a habit.

Lent: A Lesson In Sacrifice

This Lenten season has been full of lessons of flexibility and acceptance for me.  I look back to February and it's hard to believe all that is not as I expected it to be.  My goal for this season was to increase my discipline and sacrifice selfishness.  Little did I realize how that resolve was going to be tested.

Some of the day to day things that I'd intended have happened in a disciplined way.  I have been faithful to a daily Bible study.  I think that faithfulness has shown itself in a less angry, more joyful and peaceful me.  I begin my mornings in a more positive way and I think that's been a blessing to all of those around me.

I haven't been faithful about regular exercise or writing.  Those are both goals worth achieving and I hope to find a place for all the things that I know will make my life better.

I have been more creative in the last 40 days than I've been in a long time.  I love my sewing machine and have really enjoyed creating things for others.  I've discovered the joy of a job well done that actually stays done.  So few of my daily tasks fall into that category.

The best thing I've done for myself over this Lent is to be disciplined with my eating.  I've re-learned how to eat when I'm hungry and stop eating when I'm not hungry anymore.  I've also discovered that alcohol, even one drink with a meal, is just a lot of empty calories.

Forty days ago, I was planning an amazing vacation for our family.  I was so excited about the trip.  My parents were going to  join us.  We were going to see so many of the places that we've been studying in history this year.  The trip was to take two weeks and we were going to travel from St. Augustine, Florida to Boston, Massachusetts.  A few days into the trip planning, my mother-in-law asked that we come to visit them and help celebrate their 50th wedding anniversary this summer.  Because of finances, vacation time and timing, we cut the trip by a week and moved it from mid-June to the end of April. 

Since the time was shorter, the number of sights we could fit in had to be shortened.  Philadelphia, New York, and Boston then home by way of Niagara Falls became the new plan.  Until K15 was invited to prom which, of course, fell on the first Saturday of our trip.  No problem!  I speedy quick worked out a new route, dropped Niagara Falls and we were on the road again.  Leaving on Sunday morning rather than Saturday but we could go to Niagara Falls another time.

Co-op started it's fourth session in mid-March.  My children were so excited to participate in the plays that were being prepared.  Co-op lasts six weeks.  I'd assumed that the plays would be presented during the last week of that six week period.  I was wrong.  The performances were scheduled the week after the final co-op session, on Tuesday and Thursday.  My last hope for an amazing family vacation disappeared.  There is no way to see Philadelphia, New York and Boston in three days. 

Am I disappointed?  Yes!  I am mourning the lost vacation.  The joyful thing is that I know the time we spend getting ready for prom, visiting with my parents here, and sharing prom and the play performances with them will be cherished experiences, too. 

Another blessing of my cancelled vacation is the opportunity I have to minister to my sister as she has surgery.  The children and I will be spending a week with her.  If we'd had a major trip to take the week after her surgery, I might not have felt so free to volunteer my time for her. 

I believe that this Easter I approach the celebration of Christ's resurrection with more joy and less irritation, more of Christ and less of me.