Spiritual Disciplines

I received a handout in my Bible Study called, "Taking the 'Ugh' Out of Spiritual Disciplines." It is taken from the "Thin Within" newsletters. I think that disciplines should draw someone closer to God, but many times when we don't do them we start feeling guilty. Then when we finally do draw near to God we don't freely enter God's prescence. Here are some thoughts from the handout that spoke to me and I hope that they speak to you as well.

I believe any intentional practice that turns your heart toward God, deepens your relationship with Him, and transforms you to be more Christ-like, however slightly or slowly, is worth incorporating in your life as a spiritual excercise.

I know a pastor who began making the bed each morning as a spiritual discipline. By faithfully doing so, he engaged in an intentional act of loving and serving his wife.

Spiritual habits help us watch ourselves closely. They impress God's word on our souls and help us keep God in the forefront of our thoughts.

The appropriate purpose for engaging in disciplines is to grow closer to our God and become the people He created us to be. Our purpose is not to curry favor with God or earn points.

Certain disciplines help us draw near to God;others build godly character; still others help us avoid that which pulls us away from God and numbs our sensitivity to Him and others.

As a stay-at-home mommy I have fallen short of my Spiritual Disciplines. Having a baby consumes my time and energy and everything is about the baby. As the baby grows and becomes more independent, there is some extra time, but in my case I had another baby - so the cycle starts over. I also think that I have gotten out of practice. I want to encourage all of you to continue in spiritual disciplines. We need to watch our hearts and remember that these disiciplines do not make us better than others, then we may be like the Pharisees in Bible times. But when we do these disciplines, they grown us, they protect us, and they can comfort us. We build spiritual disciplines like we excercise. Something that we do everyday, in the same way - Bible study, prayer, serving others. If any of you have a way that you practice spiritual disciplines, please share it. I would love to hear from you.