My Monday Morning Cup | The Value of Habits

Since the start of 2022, I’ve been re-tooling some of my habits and routines. I want to be healthier. Being healthier physically means eating right. I need to make better food choices.

I still need to figure out how to incorporate physical exercise back into my schedule. Once upon a time, I worked out every day. And not a little, but rigorously. And I paid attention to what I ate, logging my meals.

Granted, I am on my feet a lot at work, logging tons of steps. But there’s something to be said about focused exercise and intentional eating.

Earlier this year, I found myself immersed in the Psalms and 2nd Samuel due to the Holy Spirit prompting me to devote more time to these Scriptures. I began 2022 setting out to complete the ESV Bible in one year reading plan. I wound up setting my plan to read through the Bible in one year aside so I could focus my time and energy on where the Lord was pointing me.

For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.

Philippians‬ ‭4:13‬ ‭NLT‬‬

In addition to the Psalms and 2 Samuel, as part of the preaching team at work, I am spending time doing a deep dive into the Sermon on the Mount.

Midway through the Inclement Weather season, I recognized I needed to take better care of my mind. This meant talking to someone regularly. I have a chaplain at work who I visit with about a variety of things. I also began seeing a counselor.

Spiritually, spending regular time in word and prayer are a bare necessity. I can tell when I miss a few times of being in the Lord’s presence. So can other people.

I’ve started making it a habit to read a few blogposts each morning after my time with the Lord in order to continue to grow and develop my blogging community.

I start most mornings drinking coffee, reading Scripture, before scrolling up with a few posts from fellow bloggers. Many mornings, as part of the process of drafting a new post, I type a few words into my WordPress app or in my “Notes.” This helps me capture whatever thoughts are on my mind before they fleet of into nowhere. Usually, one of our cats snuggles up next to me in order to be loved on and petted.

After work, I brew a cup of coffee and plop down in my favorite metal patio chair, rehashing the day with the Lord. Later, now that it is daylight longer and if my feet aren’t too tired, I will go for a walk in our neighborhood.

Going for walks is one of my favorite activities to do with my wife, Terri. Unfortunately, the winter months and beginning of the year don’t afford us as much opportunity to walk together except for the occasional weekend evening. Even that’s proved challenging.

These are my habits. Over the course of 25+ years in recovery, I’ve learned habits can be a good thing.

How about you? What are some of your habits and routines?

Blessings,

The Devotional Guy™

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