habits

Every year we go to the Feast of Tabernacles. Traditional Orthodox Jewish practice (to the best of my knowledge) is to build a succoth/tabernacle in your yard and have a week-long party. We have reinterpreted the command to keep the Feast of Tabernacles (Leviticus 23:34 -- Speak to the children of Israel saying: 'The fifteenth day of the seventh month shall be the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days to the Lord...'). Instead of building a succoth, or temporary dwelling, we rent a condo or house or hotel room at various Feast sites arranged by our headquarters church.

When we go away for over a week, our routines, while some are immovable, many get thrown for a loop. We have church services everyday during the Feast at 10 am, except on the weekly Sabbath, when they're put off until the afternoon. That means jacked up morning routines, nap time routines, mealtimes, etc.

When our last guests departed yesterday, I was really really looking forward to getting back to my routine (go to bed at 9ish, get up after Mark's alarm goes off at 5, make my coffee and settle in with some bible reading, studying and medtitating until the boys get up at 6:30ish).

I had a couple of talks with friends this Feast about how difficult it can be to bible study consistently, especially with kids. When I just had one, it was really easy to put it off until his afternoon nap. With two, I couldn't get to it unless and until they were both reliably sleeping through the night.

Once Ike (especially) was sleeping through the night, it became a promise I made to myself to get up with Mark and run through said morning routine. It's tough, but good reading has enriched our conversations, and, frankly, it's drawn me much closer to God.

It's been a part of my daily routine for about 3 months now, and the Feast tried it, whether or not it had become a habit. Indeed, it is a habit and something I look forward to every morning.