'09...them changes (Part III)....the final...finally!

C.) I want to work towards Christ-likeness, specifically in developing the fruit of the spirit described in Galatians 5-love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. All the life-change objectives I've listed to this point intertwine, affect, and are affected by this giant goal.
Love, as a growing personal trait (from a very tiny seed), will only come from regular, habitual seeking God, immersion in His word, and asking Him to develop love in me.
Joy comes through increasing my belief and reliance on His promises, and recognizing the eternal nature of those promises, as compared to the temporal things in life that promise joy, but rob it. Pain, disappointment, ailments, struggles, burdens, drudgery wick away joy unless we focus on the reality that because of Christ, those things will pass and ultimately be replaced by complete joy in His followers.
Peace, like joy, is a mindset strengthened by learning to see the world's definitions of success and achievement and meaningful living as frauds! [See earlier post "Sanctuary" and the wisdom of my son on this matter.]
Patience, sorely missing in my personal schematic must, like love, come through the gifting of God. When He speaks, though, I must hear!
Kindness sure isn't instinctive in me, nor is gentleness. And self-control is foreign.
Faithfulness seems more reachable than these others -but as I think about the implications of faithfulness--to what?--to whom?--all the time?--it too, will never develop into an element of my makeup without help.
Soooo, the summary of this particular life-change is...I must spend more time in the company and counsel of those in whom fruit is evident, and daily seek the Savior's help- through the Spirit-in developing this very different nature. It occurs to me, just now as I write this, that I should rewrite my '09 manifesto-dividing it into nine segments-1. Love, 2. Joy, 3. Peace, 4.Patience, 5.Kindness, 6.Goodness, 7.Faithfulness, 8.Gentleness 9.Self-control. All the previously enumerated goals will, by default, become realities if this one stays in focus. It's kind of like God has provided us with a template for resolutions-at any point on the calendar-in Galatians 5. Hmmm....
jls

'09......them changes (Part II)

...continuing....
B.) I want to read more. Reading, for me, has consisted mostly of motorcycle magazines and the very occasional book. Those occasional books "teased" at the satisfaction regular readers enjoy, but I have not developed regular reading into a habit. That has already begun to change, but to take root and become part of a new normal, I must schedule it. Item "A" (previous post) of this manifesto affords the time to do so. I can use the time immediately before bed (in lieu of TV) for reading. And the abbreviated morning routine allows for reading to become part of my pre-work routine. Reading, I think, is either educating, inspirational, or recreational-although many, many examples straddle those categories. I need to, daily, begin the day with inspirational reading-either the Bible, or something based on or about Biblical themes, or, ideally both. Goals still further down the list are dependant on this daily spirit and attitude adjustment.
The evening reading can be anything I want! Even motorcycle magazines. But a "short list" of books is developing, and becoming not-so-short. [This very day, a good friend who has evolved into a mentor-particularly in matters of the spirit-has suggested a book that is now high on that list.] There are certain individuals I observe who, to me, lead idealized lives. I, of course, know that is probably rarely true, as I see only a fraction of their entire selves, but one of the desirable attributes of those folks is the breadth and depth of their reading. They are also, not coincidentally, often also the "28 hours per day" folks (previous post). I suspect they long ago put down the remote, learned to take shorter showers, and don't " sleep in" very often.
....Part III...soon. jls

'09 begins.....them changes (Part I)

With the arrival of the new year comes the annual season of personal review and analysis. And it's the season of course adjustment, although often unintentionally temporary. The cliche resolutions are, of course, lose 30 pounds, exercise, spend less-almost universally doomed to failure. Maybe all such life change goals are doomed to failure, but it seems appropriate nonetheless to evaluate oneself at this calendar change time and list some desired repairs. So here goes...
A.) I want to make better use of the hours in my day. I've always noticed certain people seem to get more done than me. They finish projects much faster (I am hesitant to even undertake projects since things seem to take me longer, and I lose interest before completion). They finish books in much less time than me. They have regular recreation activities built in to their weeks (notice how I avoid calling it "exercise"-too traditional a resolution and too likely to be short lived.) They seem more "involved"-school and church committees and functions, memberships and volunteer service. It seems some people have 28 hours in their day, or they don't sleep, or they have clones. And it is very easy to pursue this particular goal and run head-long into contradiction with one of the next goals-to destress! So the answer seems to be to use the 24 hours I'm allotted each day better, more wisely. That's not the same as stuffing more things in. There are constants-sleep, work, eating, bathing, getting my kids up, fed, and out on school mornings, and variables. And, as I think about this, the constants aren't so rigid and inflexible after all. All the items that follow this one on my rather lengthy list of desired change become more realistic if I get this first one right. So I must...1.) Chisel in stone at least 7 hours of sleep-ideally 8. Everything one does throughout the day either benefits or is handicapped by how well this goal is met. 2.)Go to bed earlier-9:30ish, at least on school/work/church nights. If, for whatever reason. the next day allows a sleep-in,then this becomes more flexible. And accomplish this by.... 3.) by turning off the TV! (or not turning it on) The time spent flipping past infomercials and shopping channels alone may account for the difference in my day versus the 28 hour per day folks. My TV time waste is not only at bedtime. I have chiseled it into my morning routine, weekend routine, and day-off routine. As this wish list of changes grows and adds desired activities, most of the necessary time can be gained through less, much less, mind numbed channel flipping. 4.) As much as I relish the unhurried pace of my morning routine, I can fairly easily gain 45 minutes or so each day by condensing and abbreviating those morning activities. I once knew a fellow who could shower, groom, and dress in 10-15 minutes-a skill leftover from his Marine days. I take at least an hour, not counting the coffee and remote time, and breakfast with my boys time. So a simple change, but one dependent on on items 2 and 3 above, is to get up earlier, spend far less time in the bathroom, and be dressed and "ready" by the time I get my boys up for school and start breakfast. Again, the items that follow on my '09 plan seem far less...lofty... if this part of the plan becomes my new norm. I may not grow my day to 28 hours, but I will get more out of my 24.
It is now 9:59 pm. Bedtime. More to follow.
jls