Discipline

So here is the definition of my topic today: training to improve strength or self-control. This is a topic that I have stayed away from in the past because it even sounds painful for me. Discipline when you are little means getting a spankin, grounding, or perhaps making amends in some way for something you have done wrong. This isn't the true meaning of the word and it wasn't meant to be construed this way. I have been reading a book about spiritual disciplines and really searching my heart about how disciplined I am in my spiritual journey. I am not very disciplined at all to tell the truth. I am going to be blogging about my journey through this book and through my heart in this quest to become more spiritually disciplined. There are also other areas that I want disciplined in. These are:

-- Money
-- Exercise
-- Food
-- Household tasks and chores
-- School work and career development
-- Affection/Caring for others
-- Anger/emotional managment
--Time

I am kind of at a starting over place in my life and what better time to learn the word discipline and start to practice some of the disciplines of life. These take time so I am going to document my journey which may take more than one year to get some of these down.

Spiritually:

I am starting at HEARING the word of God on a regular basis. I have decided to DVR some preaching that I know is from a reputable speaker, listen to my Bible Experience DVDS each day, and read literature that is written from this perspective. This is a great first step to my spiritual disciplines. I want to learn about God's word and hearing it is one step. I also want to find a church in our area that we can attend and start to develop our family in.

Money:

I want to keep a spending log for the entire month of August for our household to begin to see our budget in a new light and start to work harder to manage it and not have excess but to really use what we have and only get what we need.

Exercise:

I want to use August to visit the gym in my apartment complex 4 days a week and use the equipment provided like treadmills, weight machines, bikes, walking area around the complex, and pool in order to gain exercise time. If I can not get to the facility on 4 days, it is my responsibility to get to 24 hour fitness or do an exercise tape in my home.

Food:

I want to use August to develop a habit of eating breakfast in my home and thinking it through daily while eating carbs, protein, fat, and dairy every morning. I want to use the diabetic outline and start to get fueled in the morning for my day.

Household Tasks and Chores:

I want to make sure all dishes are done and kitchen is properly cleaned before bedtime for the month of August. I will not place any other standards on myself but getting used to a kitchen routine of doing dishes, putting away leftovers, and cleaning down counters each night. This includes making lunches for the next day, keeping drinks stocked, and preparing for the next days meals.

School work and Career Development:

I will make a committment for August to attend all of my classes, do all of my reading, and attend all of my sessions with the kids at Access in order to develop more in my career. Easy for me to say since School starts on the 27th! :)

Affection/Caring for others:

I will make it a point in August to discipline myself to be more affectionate with my husband and use physical touch (his love language) to be connected with him. It is very hard for me to remember as it isn't that big of an issue for me but it is vitally important to him so I want that discipline in my life.

Anger/Emotional Managment:

I will make it a point in August to discipline myself to not raise my voice to my husband. I want to use a calm voice no matter what I feel inside but also express my true feelings to him but with love and gentleness that God wants me to use.

Time:

In August, I want to discipline myself to keep my planner up to date always and try to manage my time according to the planner and not waste a lot of time in my life. Procrastinating causes me so much anxiety and I want to stop doing it.

I will continue to check in on where I am on all of these things. I am excited to start to learn discipline. Some of these will take shorter times to discipline myself towards than others.

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