This Week from Mitch

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I hope and pray that you are well. For parents, teachers, and students, I hope that your school year started off smoothly. Some families crave the daily routine of the school year, others need to adjust to it. 

One change that Denise and I have made this year is waking up a bit earlier. We have been waking up together around 5 AM and we have been starting our day with a 3 to 4-mile walk. At first, I have to say it was pretty hard. However, I have found myself adjusting rather quickly. This morning, after a late-night cross-country meet that had Lydia and I eating dinner close to 10 PM, I told Denise that I was going to take the morning off.

While I did take a much-needed break from our walk, much to my chagrin, once my internal alarm clock went off, I was awake, and getting back to sleep was simply not going to happen. Instead, I enjoyed some much-needed quiet and a morning prayer/meditation time.

Going to church on Sundays, praying with your children, giving out of your first fruits to your church or to an organization you love instead of giving the leftovers, exercising, taking moments for study or prayer, volunteering, and so many other things that God calls us to can feel difficult at first. They can feel "extra."

The truth is at first anything new can feel hard – the walking certainly was. Oddly, my life seems to be adjusting around it. Last week I noticed that my screen time was down nearly 20%. I was waking up, checking my email on my phone, checking social media, checking email again, watching YouTube recaps of the news, and then checking social media again. The walk has now replaced all of that and I feel better for it. I wonder what new thing might be out there for you. I wonder what God might be calling you to begin. Perhaps there is something good you can take on, and by doing so, you might just drop something that has been holding you back.

In Christ,

Mitch