Discipline

As the school year gets rolling, I'm finding myself in need of a simple, yet challenging concept: Discipline. There's so much in this word, but I'll start with what Webster's says:

(n.) "Training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character."

This is one of several definitions, but I think it's interesting that discipline is a training. It does not happen over night. And it's not just for the physical, it also applies to the mind and the "moral character." There's so many areas of my life where I know discipline would be helpful. I'm fairly good at physical discipline (i.e. wake up/go to sleep/workout/good physical form/etc), and I'm getting better and disciplining my time management. But, discipline in relationships with people is a different matter. You can't just do X amount of push ups to get stronger here. You need to pray and seek God's help big time. Disciplining oneself in this area is difficult. 

It's hard to spend time with someone you don't really want to be around, but Jesus tells us to love. He even goes so far as to command us to love our enemies! On the flip side, it is a real challenge to limit your time with people you care about. Seeking God for balance in this area is key. Speaking of which, another area of Discipline that I have found challenging is spending time with God. This should be easy, right? Wrong. Jesus tells us that it will be hard. The world, the devil, and our own sin nature are going to do everything they can to prevent us from praying, reading Scripture, evangelizing, praising, etc. We must RENEW our minds, as Romans 12 tells us, so that we can be disciplined unto Godliness.

So, my prayer for this week is DISCIPLINE: Physical, mental, emotional, spiritual. (Mark 12:30 - Love the LORD your GOD with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength) 

That said, I love the following quote by President Truman, so I put it on a motivational poster -  go figure. Enjoy!