First things first, I want to give a shoutout to my boys back home. Mikey, Barton, Reicheneker, Jared; the whole lot of you. First thing I’m doing when I get back is letting you boys take me out to Fuzzy’s Tacos! Also my friend Jordan Lovelady! I haven’t failed to wish you a happy birthday since the third grade and I’m not gonna start now!
At the start of this month my team unanimously agreed we each wanted to practice more discipline in our spiritual walks. That looked different for each one of us. For some it was getting up earlier and having quiet time. For others it was abstaining from dinner. I of course decided to “Go big or go home” and bit off way more than I could chew. I was going to get up every morning at 7:30, do 100 pushups, sit-ups, dips, etc. Then I was going to shower, eat breakfast, read my bible, write in my journal. And I was not going to use YouTube, Facebook, or Netflix, nor would I call home. I was only going to drink water, and memorize a Psalm every day
Only problem with this is, as busy as we are we tend to have a lot of time to kill. On top of that I left myself plenty of outs; I would not get on Netflix unless the whole team wanted to have a movie night. I would not use YouTube unless I was looking up a sermon or message, and I could drink soda unless it was offered. I didn’t use Facebook unless it was to post a blog or check for birthdays. Additionally, whereas I did not call my family, I found reasons to call others back home whether it be to congratulate them on an engagement, ask about the Super Bowl, etc.
My intentions were good, but I’m really thankful for His grace because I totally missed the point. With all of these outs I might as well have never tried to fast. I treated it more as a fad rather than a spiritual discipline. And the Lord really convicted me on this. He does not want us to commit to Him 50%. He wants all of us. He wants us to pursue Him and His fruit whole-heartedly. If doing this right means taking one step at a time, then so be it. Granted, some good fruit was produced; By forcing myself to eat a good breakfast I put some weight back on, and I deleted Netflix and YouTube altogether. Plus my quiet times have been great.
This being my shortest blog to date, I’ll leave you with this:
Rather, he must be hospitable, one who loves what is good, who is self-controlled, upright, holy and disciplined. Titus 1:8
Please consider donating to my friends’ Jon and Kelsey Shears Race. They’re about $4,000 short. https://jonandkelseyshears.theworldrace.org/
-Matt
