5 Spiritual Habits to Develop for the New Year

Now that 2013 has arrived, I’m contemplating habits that that will help me to live with spiritual purpose. This is especially important now since we still haven’t found a church home in the area in which we currently live. Lacking a church home has left us feeling unmoored, so I need good spiritual habits to stay in a positive place spiritually. Because if there’s one thing that a mommy needs, it’s a reminder that there’s more to life than dirty diapers and sippy cups.

I’m planning to focus on the following habits:

1. A daily dose of Scripture. This is something that I did very well before I had kids. It’s been more challenging since I’ve become a mom because, to my surprise, I did not bear children that are content to sit in a corner and color. My boys are more of the look-mommy’s-busy-let’s-break-everything-in-sight variety. So I’ve had to be creative. I’ve written before about doing Bible studies, using Lamplight, and our little chalkboard. I’m going to continue those, but I also want to go back to an old habit that I’ve dropped in the last couple of years – journaling prayers in response to a verse.
2. Scripture memorization. I haven’t focused on Scripture memorization since I was single. I have attempted it since having children, but it seemed like whatever happened to my waist and the ability to remember why I walked into a room also happened to my memorization brain cells. It’s time to get back to this discipline, though. I’m going to participate in Beth Moore’s Siesta Scripture Memory Team 2013 this year, using Lamplight to keep track of my verses. And, keeping in mind that I want to be purposeful in 2013, I’m planning to memorize the passage about the Virtuous Woman in Proverbs 31:10-31 to help me get ideas for living purposely.
3. Listening to good bible teaching. Here’s another one that I did well when I was single. (Hmmm, I’m beginning to notice a trend.) I used to listen to teaching CD’s in the car on the way to and from work. That ended once I stopped working. Now that I take my son to preschool three times a week, I think I can re-introduce this discipline into my life. I just need to dig up my old CD’s or look for good podcasts.
4. Serve someone. This one is still nebulous to me, especially since we don’t have a church home. I know that it’s important, and I want to teach my children to have a lifestyle of service. I do serve my husband and children every day in some way (those diapers don’t change themselves – although I wish they would), but I know that I can do it better. Maybe memorizing the Proverbs 31 passage will help me with that.
5. Speak better. This may sound like it doesn’t belongs on a list about spiritual habits, but our words tell us something about what’s going on in our hearts. I’m hoping that working at being transparent and helpful in my speech (and writing) will reveal to me deeper issues that I may need to work on. For example, as a mom blogger it’s tempting to make myself and my life seem better than they are, which reveals a pride issue. Otherwise I’d wax poetic about the three-course dinner I serve every night to my husband and clean and well-behaved children, all while dressed in mommy-chic clothes that I designed and sewed myself. I would never mention the store-bought frozen casseroles, or the smears of food covering the table, my children, and my t-shirt once dinner is finally over.

Now it’s your turn – are you hoping to develop new habits in the new year?