31 Days: Day 5

To be honest, it is only day 5 and I must keep writing on topic. I had some deep thought earlier in the day, but it was fleeting. Alas, all I can think to write is: I hate discipline!

Hopefully with some good rest and no evening responsibilites tomorrow, I can be a bit more chipper about discipline and it's supposed benefits. :)

31 Days: Day 4.

****Some really great quotes on self-discipline/determination by a lot of people I do not know. :)****


"It's not that some people have willpower and some don't. It's that some people are ready to change and others are not."
- James Gordon

"Nothing really worth having comes quickly and easily. If it did, I doubt that we would ever grow."
- Eknath Easwaran

"If you have made mistakes, even serious ones, there is always another chance for you. What we call failure is not the falling down, but the staying down."
- Mary Pickford

"Willingness is essential in any initiation or in making any dream come true. "I can't" often means "I won't." You can change "I won't" to "I will" with will power."
- Marcia Wieder

"Gongfu is an ancient Chinese term describing work/devotion/effort that has been successfully applied over a substantial period of time, resulting in a degree of mastery in a specific field. Although the term is synonymous in the West with martial arts (though it is most over rendered Kung Fu), it is equally applicable to calligraphy, painting, music, or other areas of endeavor."
- Andy James

"We all have dreams. But in order to make dreams come into reality, it takes an awful lot of determination, dedication, self-discipline, and effort."
- Jessie Owens

"Any significant long-term change requires long-term practice, whether that change has to do with playing the violin or learning to be a more open, loving person. We all know people who say that they have been permanently changed by experiences of a moment or a day or a weekend. But when you check it out you'll generally discover that those who ended up permanently
changed had spent considerable time preparing for their life-changing experience or had continued diligently practicing the new behavior afterward."
- Michael Murphy and George Leonard

"A thousand mile journey begins with one step."
- Lao Tse

31 Days: Day 3.

It is funny once you commit to something how God continues to bring up the same topic in your head. One of the things I have not been so disciplined in is my First Place Bible study---I've been off and on. But today I opened up my study ( a few days late) and what do I read? 2 Timoth 2:3-7:

"Endure hardship with us like a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No one serving as a soldier gets involved in civilian affairs---he wants to please his commanding officer. Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules. The hardworking farmer should be the first to receive a share of the crops. Reflect on what I am saying, for the Lord will give you insight into all this."

The bible study goes on to explain these three metaphors. Paul uses them to help us understand how to live a Christian life. "Soldiers, athletes, and farmers discipline themselves to achieve their goals and expect results from their efforts. What are your goals for your Christian Life? What results do you expect?

By looking at these examples, it is easy to see that God desires us to be disciplined---to train like an athlete, to work hard like a farmer, to obey, serve, and please our commanding officer. The good news is he offers grace, not only that but is the Source of grace that strengthens us to be disciplined and to do the work needed.


So why discipline yourself? We discipline ourselves to achieve our goals and to see results. What results do you want to see? What is a specific action you can take to pursue these results?

***Disclaimer---I know I am preaching to the choir. I just read some of this today. Obviously I know some of it---but it is clear that I should be doing what God desires and I am ashamed to say I do not. God wants to see me disciplined enough to achieve my goals, even more so His goals and see results. Results that are surely to benefit His kingdom. I have been slapped in the face. I pray that I can take a bit of my own medicine and work on my own desire to be disciplined.

Do you have a desire to be disciplined?

31 Days....Day 2.

I chose this old font because it is a whimsical and fun font---wouldn't you agree? I mean what is not fun about "Discipline"?

So just to make sure I was on the right page I looked up the definition of the word:

dis·ci·pline.
noun \ˈdi-sə-plən\


1: punishment


2 obsolete: instruction


3 : a field of study


4: training that corrects, molds, or perfects the mental faculties or moral character


5 a: control gained by enforcing obedience or order b: orderly or prescribed conduct or pattern of behavior c: self-control

6 : a rule or system of rules governing conduct or activity




So just to be clear on what I struggle with is discipline as defined by self-control. Let's face it. I don't got it.

Another way I look at the term discipline is making yourself do something you don't necessarily want to do so that some day you can do things without having to make yourself---b/c it has at that point become ahabit. So questions for you my readers: What thing are you making yourself do so that at some point it will become second nature or habitual to you? And how are you making yourself do something you initially didn't want to do? Can discipline be a fun word? These are the burning questions I have--

31 Days......

So I just read a challenge about writing on the same topic for 31 days of October. It is going to be a challenge, but immediately I knew what topic I would write on: the big D-word. Discipline. I can recall starting my journals every six months like this---"Dear Lord, Please forgive me for my lack of discipline......" and so forth and so forth. I have written about the topic before. Discipline seems to be my nemesis and it is for this reason that I plan on writing about it for the next 31 days. I have no idea what that means.....will I write about things that I want to be disciplined in? Will I write about the ways I have been wrong with the idea of discipline? Good ways to discipline? How God discplines his children? Even I do not know. But that is why it is a challenge. Day 1 done. Now if only I can be discplined enough to complete 30 more days......

***Also, I hope to get a cool pic for this series and maybe link you to all the other 31 Day blogs....but that might have to wait till tomorrow.