Routine, Routine, Routine

Daily Truth: “Ponder the path of thy feet, and let all thy ways be established”  Proverbs 4:26

 

Routine is something most people thrive on. I am one of those moms that looks forward to a break from routine.  I love summer breaks because there is no set routine of activities from day to day. Christmas break is the same way.  We pretty much hibernate over Christmas break – partly because we are “go, go, go” during the school year.  In fact, I am probably more disappointed than the kids when Christmas break is over. However, this year was different.  Somehow 19 days of Christmas break was 19 days too long. Maybe it was the 33 hours of no power. Maybe it was  the extreme temperatures that forced the kids inside. Thus resulting in little bodily exercise and release from pent up energy. Maybe it was the 10 inches of snow that made it difficult to get out. Maybe it was the “I don’t know what to do” cries. Whatever it was, I was doing the happy dance when the kids went back to school last Thursday. I think we were stir crazy and quite frankly we were ready for routine again. That is until this Monday morning when the 6:00 a.m. alarm went off.  Then the thought of routine was NOT so appealing. Yet, truly there is something to be said for routine.

It is the beginning of a new year.  It is the time of year when many people make pledges to develop certain routines. Eating healthy. Exercising. Daily Bible reading. And the list goes on and on. Why do we decide to make promises at the beginning of the year to develop new routines? Maybe it’s because we have let our established eating routine get sidelined with all the sweet treats.  (Guilty as charged!) Maybe it’s because exercise became less of a priority during the holiday season due to time. Maybe it’s because we know we haven’t spent as much time in the Word as we should have this past year. Whatever the reasons, we decide to make pledges to develop new routines or improve old ones at the beginning of the year. Yet, how many of us have already failed and it is only 2 weeks into the new year.

Sigh….. Here are some thing our family is doing to help with our routines or newly pledged routines.

1.  Today, my mom and I joined a gym.  She swims.  I run.  I don’t swim.  She doesn’t run.  Yet, I think this will work for us to get into a pattern of meeting at the gym and keeping each other accountable for exercising. BTW- the water Zumba class does sound interesting.  I might just don the bathing suit and give that a whirl.

2.  Grab a friend to help keep you accountable.  I have one buddy for running.  We both had rough patches of getting it in before the holidays.  OK – rough months of getting in the running due to health and work. I have another friend that is my prayer partner and we have been for a couple of years. Proverbs 27:7 refers to friends keeping each other accountable.

3.  There’s an app for that.  Yep, there are some for exercising, Bible reading, eating, just about anything you want.  Find one you like and use it.  (mmmmm…..maybe future blog). I like the Bible Gateway app because there is an audio version for some of the translations. My mom and I use that for our devos especially for those really busy days. My husband uses a “Read-Through-The-Bible-In-A-Year” pamphlet. My daughter is using Streams in the Desert for Kids to help her establish a routine of daily Bible Reading. So, as we dive into this new year, take the time to write down a couple routines that you want to improve on or start for yourself as well as ones for your family. Then jot down ways to help you establish that routine whether it be a friend, a book, or an app. Start today developing routines that will help you become more and more the mom God wants you to be.

Tip for the week:  Homemade Granola (we make this every week)

2 c quick oats

1/3 c of maple syrup and honey combined.

2 TB canola oil

Add cinnamon, ginger, and all spice to taste.

Pinch of sea salt

You can also add coconut, dried fruit, nuts, pecans, etc.

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Mix all the ingredients together until well coated.  Place on a cookie sheet and cook for 40 minutes stirring every 15 minutes.

When done, pour the granola on wax paper and let it cool completely.  Place in an airtight container.

Until next week, Rebekah klink

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