What Routine?

I absolutely love summer.  Being a teacher, this allows me ample time to do all the things I don't usually have time for during the school year - like read my ever growing list of books, fixing/cleaning things around the house, etc.  I have a problem though.  A problem to which I know the solution but find myself wavering back and forth to commit.  You see, during the school year my morning routine is down to a science.  Every minute of my morning is accounted for, every task has its time slot, and let me just be honest:  summer completely throws my routine out the window.


It's a blessing and a curse, really.  I have the freedom of knowing that I don't have anywhere to be or anything to do, no deadlines to meet, no lesson plans to write.  That part is great.  The part where I don't work out consistently, where I'm not consistently in the Word, where I sit down to write a new blog entry at 4:50 in the afternoon and I haven't even showered or gotten out of my pajamas yet - those are the parts that aren't so great.


Is it wrong to not have any real obligations for a period of time?  No, I don't think so.  Am I gloating in the fact that I have all summer off and don't have to go to work for two months?  No.  In fact, it's probably the worst thing possible for someone like me who is so routine oriented.


Reading in the L3 Journal the other day, Proverbs 5:23 stuck out like a sore thumb:

"He dies for lack of discipline, and because of his great folly he is led astray."

It may not be true for everyone, but for a person like me - lack of discipline really is death-like.  I don't die a physical death or even a spiritual death, but I certainly decline in my growth.  When I'm not consistently working out, I can definitely tell a difference in my physical abilities.  When I'm not meditating on God's Word and seeking His face daily, it opens me up for all sorts of temptations to lead me astray.  I think that's why Solomon in all his wisdom wrote this particular part of the Proverbs.  He knew that discipline was a vital part of every person's life, and it's most relevant to us as Christians.


I need the consistency of knowing that every day at a specific time I am going to open up God's Word and spend some time learning what He has to say to me for the day.  I need it. "As the deer pants for the water," so to speak.


I say all that to say this.  I'm making it a goal of mine for the rest of the summer to get up at the same time every day in order to:
- discipline my spirit through time spent with God,
- and discipline my body through working out.


I've got to.  It's vital for life.  It's especially vital for life in Christ.  That's my routine.
What's yours?