My Routine

In early 2012, I started to follow a structured spiritual practice. I use the the Beatitudes and Lord's Prayer to establish my week, as they run a similar 7-step course.

The first three days of the week I focus on the greatness of God and my own lack of it. The second three days, I focus on doing the good that God has prepared me to accomplish. The last day, I focus on the peace that exists between me and God.

Here is a summary of my thinking. The days link to the posts for that day.

Days	Beatitudes	Lord's Prayer	My Focus
Mondays	Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven	Our Father in heaven, your name is holy	My heart is in chaos, and God wants to change it. I pray for myself and confess my sins.
Tuesdays	Blessed are those who mourn, for they will be comforted	Your kingdom come	My relationships are in chaos, and God wants to change them.  I pray for my immediate family.
Wednesdays	Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth	Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven	My influence is in chaos, and God wants to set things right.  I pray for my extended family and close friends.
Thursdays	Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled	Give us today our daily bread	My heart is hungry for good, and God will fill it. I pray for my friends who are connect to God and the church.
Fridays	Blessed are the merciful, for they will be shown mercy	And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors	My relationships are good, and God will build them up. I pray for my friends who aren't connected to God.
Saturdays	Blessed are the pure in heart, for they will see God	And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one	My influence is good, and God will expand it.  I pray for the world.
Sundays	Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God	For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever	When I make peace, I partner with God.  I enjoy God's presence.

For each week, I pick a theme from somewhere in the bible. I try to apply this pattern to what I'm reading, as it makes sense.

For more detail on each day, please go to this link.

I'm very interested in the spiritual routines of others. If you have something you would like to share, please email me.

If you are looking for more information on developing a spiritual routine, I would suggest visiting the site of Phyllis Tickle as a start. Her work is what initially motivated me to start this practice.

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For 2014, I am going to study the Sermon on the Mount in detail (Matt 5-7). I hope to memorize the whole thing this year - but memory work like this is hard for me, so wish me luck.

As I pursue being a "disciple of Jesus", I think it's important for me to really understand what he taught, talked about, and did.