My Summer Schedule

I've been reading Godliness through Discipline by Jay Adams during my morning worship time. I'd highly recommend it.  It's a short read at only 25 pages.  Here are some gleanings from it.

1. Discipline is the secret of godliness-I Timothy 4:7.

2. Godliness is the goal of the Christian life; we must please God      by being, thinking, doing, saying and feeling in the ways that        He wants us to.

3.  If you are going to learn discipline, you must first learn                  patience.

4.  Discipline means work; it means sustained daily effort.

5.  Continued daily effort is an essential element of Christian              discipline; just like an athlete.

6.  Jesus insisted that Christians must deny the self within them.  By the self, He meant the old 

      desires, the old ways, the old practices, the old habit patterns.

7.  Taking up the cross means going to the place of death.  It means putting to death the old life      patterns of the old man.

8.  God gave man a marvelous capacity that we call habit.  We can't avoid habitual living.

9.   You must become aware of your life patterns and evaluate them by the Word of God.  The           Christian life is a life of continual change.

10.  Discipline first requires self-examination, then it means crucifixion of the old sinful ways            (saying "no" daily), and lastly, practice in following Jesus Christ in new ways by the                      guidance and strength that the Holy Spirit provides through His Word.

11.  Living according to feeling is the greatest hindrance to godliness that we face.  Godly,                    commandment-oriented living comes only from biblical structure and discipline.

12.  All of the stress that the Bible puts upon human effort must not be  misunderstood; we are          talking about grace-motivated effort, not the work of the flesh.

13. If we want to discipline ourselves toward godliness, a most essential factor is the regular            study of God's Word in order to make application of its principles to our problems.

14. It is by willing, prayerful and persistent obedience to the requirements of the Scriptures             that godly patterns are developed and come to be a part of us.

15.  Structure alone brings freedom.  Discipline brings liberty.  Liberty  comes through law, not        apart from it. 

I am a great one for making lists and schedules.  For the most part I stick to them and am productive.  But there usually comes a time when I rebel and do what I want.  I am very feeling driven which I'm learning more and more is just plan selfishness. 

I have also learned that when I get this attitude that the only thing I get done is reading.  I know there's a time and place for relaxation.  I'm not saying that.  I'm the Queen of relaxation!  But when I need and want to get things done, I need to stick to a schedule.

                                       So this summer my schedule looks like this:

6:00 Worship

7:00 Exercise

8:00 Breakfast, cleanup, and get dressed

9:00 Housework

10:00 Writing

11:00 Photography

12:00 Lunch and cleanup

1:00 Housework-Clothes Repair-Ironing

2:00 Rest and Reading

3:00 Project-House, Art, Sewing, or misc.

4:00 "                                           "

5:00 "                               "

6:00 Cook supper

7:00 Supper and cleanup

8:00 Gardening and puttering outside

9:00 Family worship and reading to Darcie

10:00 Bath and reading

11:00 Bed