Martin Luther said, ” A nail is driven out by another nail; habit is overcome by habit.”

…do not disdain the small. Little nails and a steady hammer can rebuild a life. -Ann Voskamp

Most of us want to change things in our lives or how we deal with things but when we look at what we think is the problem. we set out, gripping hard, ripping at roots to make the change. Hard and fast bending our will. Most the time sheer grit wont do it. Sure, it will if you want to rearrange a room but if you want soul transformation. Its not gonna work. We also tend to look at what others are doing and we try that, get discouraged, and then quit. Can I tell you, that I know that it doesn’t work! It wont if we don’t first pray, take some inventory to know clearly what it is that we are wanting to change. Looking at how others do it and doing the same thing never pans out. Why? Because we are totally different people. What if instead we personalized and customized our changes by listening to the Spirit of the Lord? He will gives us one step at a time if we ask. Then with the power of simple trust and obedience. We will begin to shift.

I have this sign that hangs in my dining room. It says, “Advice is what you ask for when you already know the answer but wished you didn’t.” Harsh? Yeah maybe. But for me this makes sense. Especially in the elusive area of change. I know that it is by the “little by little” that things change. One little shift at a time and when that has set in then I can make another little shift. If you stick with the little by little — as they say, “inch by inch is a cinch” — you will get there. It is the mile by mile that takes a while! Get started by trusting in the slow process of God and before you know it, change is being made.

Here’s the trouble: we want the quick fix. There is no such thing as a quick fix when it comes to transformation in Christ. But building habits into our routines can help us on becoming more disciplined in our lives to bring about the things we are partnering with God to achieve. We live in habitual motions. We have routines built into our day whether we like routine or not. When a habitual movement gets broken then all the things connected to it also fall apart. It’s like a little saying I use “little shifts make big changes.” This is why change is scary and why people don’t like it. One little change messes with more than just what you think you’re changing. Which is also why it is important to follow the Lords lead in what to change rather than to go the rogue way and start turning your life upside down. If you allow your inner self to be renewed day by day as you follow the Lord. CHANGE WILL HAPPEN. If you don’t. CHANGE WILL HAPPEN and you won’t like it and you may wake up one day and not recognize the self you drifted into.

“A ‘routine’ is a string of habits, and a ‘ritual’ is a habit charged with transcendent meaning” – Gretchen Rubin

Habits can become routines that serve our lives into well-being or they can lull us to sleep, keeping us stuck in bad cycles.  Its time to be proactively growing in our spiritual life not just punching a ticket and calling it good. Perhaps you hear the call to start walking or running but you don’t know where to begin. Start looking at your routines. Where do you have 30 mins or an hour that you can put that in on a regular basis? I bet you have a space and currently it is used for watching TV, scrolling online or some other time wasting thing. Maybe it will work out like you want or maybe it wont but as Pastor Chad said, “Success or failure is not yours to determine. The questions is are you being obedient? That’s what will matter!” If you are obedient it will always work for what the Lord intends it too. Do you trust Him?

All is grace,

Starla