EFFORT and EFFECT

But the fruit of the Spirit is...self-control.Galatians 5.22

Don't worry, we're going to return to our regularly scheduled program soon. Promise.

One thing I'm realizing about this season, and the coming season, is that there is a real need for me to grow in discipline. I am historically a very undisciplined person. A few years ago a good man put his hand on my head and said these words: You have great skill, great abilities, but because of that, temptation would arise to just get it done quickly, adequately. The Lord doesn't want you to do it adequately. He wants you to do it with excellence.

It wasn't the first time the Lord drew gentle attention to that particular area of weakness and, God help me, it hasn't been the last. Because I have found many things come easily to me, I rarely give any attention to the things which do not. The nice part of that is that I know my calling and rarely waste time chasing meandering rabbits of wishful thinking. The nasty part of that is that if takes more than a little effort, I don't do it.

As I began to take stock of the coming season I began to realize that unless I attacked it with a Gibraltar sized determination, I would go nowhere fast.

The thing about discipline, though, is that if nobody knows you're gritting your teeth and planting your seat, it's hard to have any sense that, well, anything is happening.

So, dear readers, I have no intention of making you my science experiment, yet every intention of making you my partners in crime.

I know that my writing is best swallowed in smaller amounts, so posts of a spiritual nature you will not be finding an over-abundance of. Three a week (tops). One will come on Mondays.

Tuesdays there will hopefully be a smattering of images I've collected over my week—I've lived too many places and left too many people behind to cheat them of snapshots of life.

Wednesdays & Thursdays I'll give some more offerings of the writing you've grown familiar with here (depending on current events and the Holy Spirit, of course).

And on Fridays there will be a book review and giveaway of said book (baring shipping costs which might overwhelm me in a few weeks, we'll see.).

Saturdays will be a gathering of links to articles, posts, and people I've found interesting throughout the week.

Sundays are my sabbath day and while I do a good amount of writing on that day, I think it would be best to keep it quiet around here.

Does that sound too overwhelming to you? It does to me and that's why I think it will be good, good, good for me. I work best under pressure and pressure this will be. But it's never my desire to overwhelm you, so cry Mercy! or Uncle! and I'll listen, really, I will.