Spring Is Here – Time to Take a Bad Habit Inventory

I love a good spring cleaning. There is nothing as wonderful as a nice, organized space. It gives my brain the ability to relax and think. You might be groaning reading this because you HATE cleaning and organizing and like all the piles of things everywhere. That is okay. However, there is one area of life I think it is good for all of us to take a moment to ‘clean through’ now that spring is here.

It’s time to take a bad habit inventory.

I’m not talking about bad habits like biting your fingernails or eating too much chocolate (You can’t eat too much right?), although those bad habits should be evaluated too. I’m talking about an inventory of the choices you are making.

I don’t want to.

Oh, I know. It’s so much more fun to hang on to bad habits than admit you need to change them. I had a habit that I developed in the last couple years that I knew was not the best for our family, and I felt convicted it needed to change but change is haaaaaard. I finally told my husband, ‘I think it’s time we change this.” It was much more comfortable staying in my bad habit than trying to change it though. We had all sorts of good excuses too.

We had to get uncomfortable.

For us, the habit was that we fell out of attending our church in person. We’ve been watching online but it’s a different experience. We found ourselves really drifting away from connections, our kids didn’t know as many people and we really wanted to start the process of rebuilding relationships.

That’s it?

I know this doesn’t seem like a huge thing, but it really was for our family. Bad habits don’t necessarily have to be crazy huge! Sometimes they are just little things. Why was getting back to church hard for us? Getting up early is not our jam. Honestly sometimes getting my kids dressed in the morning on the weekends is not our jam. There were so many little excuses we used to keep convincing ourselves that we needed to just keep doing church at home.

Here is how we decided to make the changes.

1. We made this change together. My husband and I were on the same page. The kids will always complain so I take their opinions with a grain of salt. #SorryNotSorry
2. We picked a date and just made it happen. We knew it wouldn’t be the easiest transition but we just picked a date, all agreed, told the kids and made it happen.
3. Now our goal is staying consistent and continuing to go. There is something about gathering together with fellow believers that is so wonderful.
4. It might not be perfect, but we are taking it one step at a time and pushing the excuses to the curb. You can always find ways to talk yourself out of something. Turn that self talk around!

What are some things you are doing that you might need to take inventory of this Spring?

• Maybe you need to change some media habits. PRAISE 106.5 is here for you if you are in need of a place filled with life and encouragement. It’s easy to get sucked down by the weight of the world. You weren’t meant to carry all that.
• Maybe you need to reconnect with friends or family that have fallen away. Start with a simple “I’m praying for you today text!”
• Maybe you need to go back to church like me or build some better Spiritual habits. Time to open that Bible, join a new small group, or build in some quality prayer time.

Whatever it is, I would love to remind you that God is ready to meet you in your need and help you. If you need prayer, we’d love to pray with you! Make this a Spring of renewal! We all have habits that we need to break. Let’s get started!