It would seem that I have unwisely fallen out of the habit of blogging in the mornings, but that's not the only habit I've fallen out of. I haven't been reading the scriptures on my own anymore, or praying as regularly, and I think that those habits are connected. When I don't pray and read the scriptures, I have a harder time feeling and following the Spirit, which is what I rely on when I blog. Since I don't have the Spirit's help in blogging, I end up staying up late to blog, which makes me too tired to feel like reading the scriptures that night, and the cycle repeats itself.
To break this cycle, I'll have to start saying my personal prayers and doing my personal scripture study even when I'm really tired, but if I succeed in doing that, the cycle may reverse. Praying and reading the scriptures will help me to have the Spirit, which will help me to blog better, which will let me go to bed earlier, so I'll be less reluctant to pray and read some scriptures first.
It's tragic how often I need to remind myself to do this. Praying and reading the scriptures are the answers to so many of life's problems, you'd think I'd have made a solid habit out of them by now. Yet, every couple of months, I find that I need to recenter myself and recommit to living the basics of the Gospel. I wonder if God has a program in His church that reminds us to recommit. Would that be the Sacrament, or maybe Fasting, or something else? It's probably the Sacrament, but it seems extreme to recommit oneself to anything as often as once a week. But, actually, if we're talking about a commitment to daily personal prayer and scripture study, recommitting once a week might not be too frequent. Missionaries consider their personal goals once a week. Maybe I should, too.
At any rate, I certainly need a recommitment now, and I may or may not need another one in a week's time. The Sabbath is certainly a good day to evaluate how well one is keeping the commandments and how they could do better. It would certainly be nice to have the Spirit with me more, especially if it helps me blog earlier in the day. If weekly recommitment is what it takes to make that happen, I'll try to remember that next week.
1 comment:
I think frequent recommitment is one of of probably many missionary habits we would be wise to implement in "civilian" life. Even when we are seeming to do well at something, we would probably do well to review, evaluate, and recommit. I guess I should commit and recommit to the practice.
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