For me, the New Year is a time to evaluate my life. And like many others, the physical part of my life is important. The following story brought it to my attention.
Meredith has been noticing the belly of a pregnant woman lately. She wants to touch her belly and talks about the baby about to come out. The other day, Meredith did that . . . to me! It’s true–I’ve been starting to look like the Grinch, except for the green part.
Pastor Adam jokes about me being skinny sometimes (warranted with all the ribbing I give him). But our physical health is always moving in a certain direction. The direction I’ve been moving in is toward weight gain and looking like I have a giant bowling ball in my stomach.
Changing these things with mantras like “lose weight” aren’t helpful for me. I have to break them down to specific habits. There is a reason I look like the grinch after I have a meal–it’s because of the habits that are a normal part of my life.
Specifically, I drink close to 50oz of Diet Coke each day. That’s unhealthy. I also usually eat something (often peanut butter) late at night. That’s an unhealthy habit. On top of that, I don’t have a sweet tooth. I have sweet teeth.
The habits I am implementing are the following:
- No more Diet Coke
- No food between 7pm–7am
- Workout 3 days/week
- Desserts on Saturday and Sunday only
Today is day one, and I already had to warn Susan and Diane that I am having caffeine withdrawals. Yikes, y’all.
My Point
My point in sharing this is not just so you guys won’t offer me Diet Coke anymore (thank you, but no thank you!), but to point out the importance of habits in our lives. Habits make or break our lives. They shape who we become.
Our habits of Bible reading, Scripture memory, family prayer, church attendance, Life Group gathering, etc., shape who we become spiritually. Our growth or lack thereof depends on our spiritual habits. Donald Whitney calls them “Spiritual Disciplines.”
This is not being legalistic! This is just life. We don’t form habits to earn something but because of who we are in Christ and who He has called us to be. He wants more for us. He wants more in us. He wants more through us.
What habits are a part of your life that aren’t helping you become more like Christ? What habits might not necessarily be sinful, but aren’t helpful for you or others?
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