Form one, just one, good habit before school starts. If you begin school after Labor Day, you still have 8 habit-forming weeks left. I looked at the twenty most read books on Amazon this week. In the first fifteen, I noticed 2 on habits.
Sometimes a good habit replaces a bad habit. Other times it stands on its own. As Christians, we experience power in positive habit formation that others lack—the power of God. “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost” (Romans 15:13).
What if you prayed right now and asked God to show a habit He wanted you to develop in the next 8 weeks? What do you struggle with that would be easier with a habit to help you accomplish it? Perhaps recently, He whispered it to you, but you resisted. What if you committed right now to make that habit a priority through the rest of the summer? What would your life look like going forward if that habit was in place? We are often robbed of joy by something that might not be so hard, with God’s help, to put in place in our lives.
God wired us for habits to make our lives simpler with fewer decisions and less thought. A habit automatically moves us through an action without having to consider whether we do it or not, when we do it, or how we do it. It just happens.
The homeschool mom finds it easier to focus and work on a new habit during the summer than at New Year’s because generally she doesn’t have homeschooling responsibility during June, July, and August.
Habits that come to my mind that most of us would like to have would be:
- Consistent bedtime and wake up time
- Time in the Word each day
- Daily exercise
- Meal planning
- Consistent meal times
- Consistent laundry time
- Consistent cleaning time
- Consistent home organization and dejunking
Most of you know that my early mothering did not start out well. I was angry, worried, and depressed. Over the years as I began each of those habits (I listed) they had a direct positive impact on my negative emotions.
In order to implement a new habit, make a plan. Write down specific steps toward your habit. For example, “Read my Bible daily” makes a perfect good habit if it isn’t already in place. For that habit, you want to determine:
- How long to read your Bible.
- When to read it.
- Where to read it.
- What distractions to eliminate.
To tap into the spiritual power God gives us for doing what He calls us to do, pray. Pray throughout the day that God will enable you to form the new habit. Pray that you don’t choose the flesh over the new habit. When you fail, repent, asking the Lord’s forgiveness, and go at it again. That’s extremely simple but terribly hard all at the same time.
What habit will you tackle in the next 8 weeks? If you e-mail me and let me know, I will pray for you. Then I will e-mail you in September and ask how you did.
Trusting in Jesus,
Teri
