Disciplines

Discipline.

Kind of a scary word isn't it? Makes you think of punishment, or drudgery, maybe? Or maybe mind-numbing repetitions?

But discipline is as necessary to human life as food and water. Without it, our lives would have no structure or pattern or even meaning. They would be a sad, chaotic, and free-floating mess of unfulfilled dreams, unsatisfied desires, and disappointed hearts.

Consider this, every morning, you discipline yourself to get up (hopefully), eat breakfast (probably), get dressed (most likely), and then set about some task (usually). Wait, do you?

I know I struggle sometimes with even these basic disciplines. All right, let's take it another direction. Every day, I discipline myself to check my email. Wow. Big deal. Such sacrifice. But I do it, and that's the point. Checking my email is important enough to me that I do it every day; multiple times a day, for that matter.

Now, if I want to succeed at anything in life, I need to keep at it until I gain some proficiency. Otherwise my life will be full of never-finished projects and goals. For example, some six or seven years ago I began to take violin lessons. I was required to practice every day for at least thirty minutes. For the next five years I practiced my violin nearly every day for at least some time. Oh, it was difficult often, and I missed days all the time. But I was discipling myself to do it. Now, years later, I don't practice at all hardly, but I play often enough to keep my fingers from losing their skill. And I'm grateful for those years I did spend practicing to get me where I am.

Let's apply this to my current situation: writing. I want to be a good writer. How do I get good? Practice. What does practice require? Discipline. For two Novembers now I have disciplined myself to write at least 1,667 words a night for thirty days. However, during the rest of the year, my writing time is sporadic, to say the least. So, I have made the decision to discipline myself in this areal; I am going to write every night (other events permitting) for at least half an hour.

Why is this important? Because not only will I be able to complete the many stories I have started, but I will continue to grow in my writing, rather than having to start all over again every time I get an inspiration kick.


Where do we go from here? God. Everything in my life should point to God, even if it's just a short little blog post that has some nice wording. So, where do God and disciplines meet?

All over the place! Disciplining yourself in Godliness is one of the most important things to being a Christian!

So, how does one do this? Many ways; but I want to focus on two foundational ones that everything else can be built upon.

First: reading His word. Everything we know about God comes from His holy scriptures, so if we seek to grow closer to Him, the best way to do that is by reading His very words. Self-application? I am going to discipline myself to read in God's word every morning right after I get up. This not only gives God the front row in my life, but helps me prepare for the day as I look to Him for guidance and strength.

Second: Prayer. If God talks to us through His word, then we talk to Him through prayer. Prayer helps keep out minds focused on Him, and keeps us close to Him as we battle through the daily mire of the world around us. Self-application? I am going to discipline myself to pray more often. (i.e: not only at meal times). I want to call on God whenever and wherever I am, to lay each and every problem before him, and to draw closer to Him throughout the day.

So, to conclude; I am striving to discipline myself to: Write every night for half an hour; Read my Bible every morning; and Pray to God throughout the day.

For:

"I can do all things through him who strengthens me."
(Philippians 4:13 ESV)

Pray for me, as I seek to glorify my God through discipling myself. And if you know me personally, keep me accountable! Ask me how I'm doing with these three disciplines.

In Christ,
Farjag