Shaking It Up

¹⁸ But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.-2 Peter 3:18

 As many of you know, I've been hiking in the mountains a lot lately.  I’ve been going 2 or 3 times a week, mostly to South Mountain.  I’ve gotten to know that hike pretty well, and it gets easier each time.  Wednesday Richard suggested we do the loop the opposite way from what we normally do.  Wow!  What a difference THAT made.  The way up was WAYYYYY steeper that way.  I used brand new muscles and whined and complained every step of the way.  But I did it!  Going down was different too.  All those steps I’m used to climbing up are no picnic coming down either… especially on tired, wobbly legs.

Any physical trainer will tell you that it’s good to shake up your exercise routine every now and then.  I think it is the same with our spiritual routines.  We can get into a rut and our prayer and worship can become rote.  Our study can become nothing more than a confirmation of things we already believe instead of giving us new insights.

Shake it up occasionally!  Pray in a completely new location… try outside if you normally pray inside… try kneeling or standing if you normally pray sitting.  Use a different pattern for your prayer.  Include adoration and confession if you normally just jump right into supplication.

Try worshiping in a different atmosphere.  I don’t necessarily mean to miss worship with your church family.  But if you go away on vacation, find a church to worship in on Sunday.  Maybe even try out a new denomination.  Attending a retreat is a great way to have some new worship experiences.

Shake up your scripture study!  Read a new spiritual author.  Read something you don’t think you will agree with, and after reading it, if you still don’t agree, form a good argument against the author.  You don’t have to really confront him/her, just know WHY you disagree and back it up with scripture.

Use some new spiritual muscles this summer.  It’s a great way to grow in faith!

Lord God,

Help us to expand and renew our faith by reaching beyond our regular spiritual routines.  Amen.

Joys:  Internet back up after the latest storm messed it up; my doctor... he's just a sweet guy and I'm always smiling when I leave his office; Friday!