I am not very disciplined (despite the J in my Myers-Briggs type). I don't make to-do lists that I check off. I don't abide by daily schedules very well. I procrastinate.
I am not extremely un-disciplined, either. I am usually on time. I get things done. I don't often forget completely! But I strive for more discipline in my life. Without that striving, my fall-back position often lands me in a chair (or bed) with a book, most likely a mystery novel. Not a bad position, of course, but not always the best position for fulfilling purpose. Thus, many of my New Years Hopes involve being more orderly, establishing better routines and habits.
One of my primary hopes for this year is that I will establish some better spiritual practices. So far, I have dragged myself out of bed about 4 mornings a week to do a little yoga and prayer book time (which also includes scripture-reading). I pick up the prayer book at other times of the day as well, but I am not disciplined about that. I hope to gradually increase that practice. Ultimately, I'd like to have a regular morning, midday and evening prayer time, but right now my focus is on morning prayer. Baby steps.
As a family, we have added a candle-lighting time to our meals together. One of us lights a white Christ-candle and says, "Jesus is the light of the world," and the rest of us respond, "The light which no darkness shall overcome." Then we sing our blessing prayer - the "God Our Father" blessing song, which we have taught our kids to sing, "God our Father, God our Mother...." This is intentional, of course, because we want to emphasize that God is both father and mother to us and may be addressed as either, but it does make for some mildly awkward moments when we're with other friends or family. I had not considered that when we started the blessing song. Oh well, another way we're the rebel family! But I digress....
One practice I'm just beginning to try is "praying in color." Apparently, this idea has been around a while, but I'd never heard of it before reading about it at The Blue Room Blog. And I love it! Prayer - the kind of prayer that relies on me finding words - has always been a struggle. Which is partly why I like using a prayer book. But I love that praying in color helps me to pray for specific people/needs/praises in a way that doesn't require finding words. It does require some time, but it's time that is active, moving, engaging.
One last practice that I'm just beginning is a one-sentence journal for each child. I tried to start a hand-written journal for each of them last year, but once I started the blog, most of my writing went here. And I have a very hard time making myself write with pen or pencil! But writing just one sentence a day (idea also taken from Blue Room Blog) - that seems more doable. It's a way to capture a bit of our lives together in a more personal way than the blog. Though not a spiritual practice exactly, this helps me to reflect and be an intentional parent. And I hope it will some day be a nice gift for them.
Do you have any suggestions for incorporating spiritual practices into daily routines? Any ideas for better including children in this? What has been meaningful for you?
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