Daily Archives: August 26, 2008

Daily Routine

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Multimedia messageThe return of school brings with it the return of routine.  Summer is filled with chaotic non-routineness that makes it difficult at times.  School is the chance to start again with a new routine.  The first day is a given, everyone’s nervous and its almost a relief to get out of bed, its what happens on day 2+ which makes what happens each morning a routine.  By the end of the first week, we’ll be settled into whatever we’re going to do each morning.

So now is the time to change the patterns.

Pattern 1:  Morning — enjoy it, don’t miss it:  What do I mean?  Confession:  I usually crawl out of bed in just enough time to wake all the kids, and scramble out in time to get them to school before the bell rings.  Now is the time, to make each morning different.  Enjoy the conversations, give the kids time to wake up and get moving without a rush, break the fast together, and start the day right.  Today was a great start.  Thank you honey.

Pattern 2: Devotional — get straight: The top picture is my morning allotment of reading material. I usually do it over coffee when I get to the office.  In the spirit of confession, I haven’t done that at all, and it effects my endurance at the end of the day. While it might seem overkill all stacked up together, its isn’t more than a couple of pages in each book, easily done.  When I’m straight with God, I’m straight with myself, and it makes me a better person, husband, employee and friend.  I shouldn’t let this slip.

Pattern 3: Return to home — This is a routine that needs to be well thought out.  And it hasn’t ever been, its been more ad hoc than regular in past years.  This year, my two daughters are middle schoolers, and in a bit of a no-mans land when its time for school to get out.  Walking home is a challenging distance, and two major roads cause me and Angie to worry.  However, Liberty Rec Center is a shorter distance, and on my way home.  Yesterday the girls waited there for me to pick them up, and — they enjoyed it!  Sooo.. an opportunity presents itself.  A routine of picking them up at the Rec Center will scream at me to start doing that whole exercise thing I’ve been promising to get around to, and I hope to incorporate that into a routine as well.

Like I mentioned previously, this is day two, we’ll see how it shakes out by the end of week two, but for now, I see a lot of promise in our changes.

Daily Walk 365 – Day 2

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For it is God who is working among you both the willing and the working for His good purpose. — Philippians 2:13 (HCSB)

That seems a bit awkward in structure… unfamiliar, shouldn’t be since Bobby’s camping out in Philippians on Sunday mornings, lets look at some different translations.

for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose. — Phil 2:13 (NIV)

Hmmm… Maybe its because this verse is tucked between such awesome parts of Philippians (verse 2:5ff — “your attitude should be like Christ’s” and 2:14 — “do everything without complaining or arguing”) that I’ve missed it as I breeze through. But its still seems odd phrasing. Can Eugene Peterson do anything with this?

That energy is God’s energy, an energy deep within you, God himself willing and working at what will give him the most pleasure. — Phil 2:13 (Message)

Hmmm. The exhortation to change your attitude (v 2.5ff) seems to also join with Christ in allowing God to work in and with ourselves towards His will. The book adds another quotation (as it does for most of the days… but I won’t always transcribe it here) that seems important as I dwell on this passage.

In God’s plan, God is the standard for perfection. We don’t compare ourselves to others; they are just as fouled up as we are. The goal is to be like him; anything less in inadequate. — Max Lucado

Max always does a great job of clearing things up. Though the exhortation to perfection is a bit disconcerting to those with a perfectionist bent, it is good to realize that our model isn’t our friend, neighbor, mentor, teacher, or critic. Our model is Christ, who when faced with disappointment, exhaustion, pain, and indecision, reached out to God (or as yesterday’s excerpt mentions — call out to God). Even in our imperfection, that method is open to us, thanks to Christ’s sacrifice. And in calling out to God, we also have to be open to listening, hearing and allowing God to work in us and through us towards His purposes, not ours.

I don’t do that enough, may I do it evermore as I run this race.

Peace.