Some new habits

Well, unfortunately, my "blogging" is definitely an area that will see a hit from this new adventure of going back to school. For those who actually stop by and check out this little site of mine, I will still try and get out a post every week, or at least every other week, and I will still faithfully check out your sites whenever I get the chance where I enjoy reading about the happenings in your life and your fun thoughts, ideas, and inspirational stories. Just please bare with the irregularity and often times rushed and boring manner of these posts of mine that will probably ensue...

Anyhow, I've always enjoyed and almost thrived on being busy, but I definitely think I will let out one huge sigh of relief once this year is over! My colleagues, professors, students, and classes are all awesome so I think I will definitely love much of what this year has in store for me, but I'm sure I'll be quite happy once this whirlwind passes :).

This weekend was a wonderful time to just chill-ax a little, however; while Steve was being inspired at the men's retreat with our church out in Long Island (ironically enough), I decided to take a quick trip home. And I do mean quick- I left Friday from Stony Brook on the LIRR to Penn Station then caught the Megabus from NYC to DC, getting into my parent's abode around 8:30 that evening. Then we left this morning at 9:30 to catch the bus in DC, and I came right to work after arriving into Penn around 2:45pm. I did have a wonderfully pleasant surprise though, of my sweet hubby waiting for me when I got into Penn Station, so at least we got to enjoy a yummy lunch together before I started work at 4.

Alas, I digress. As I often do...

The visit went by way too fast, but I got in some fun mommy-daughter time with pedicures and shopping, got to see my brother, and even got to see my Toodaddy (grandpa), as he, Mary Catherine (his wife), and Susan (her daughter) came down for lunch. It was a gorgeous day as we ate lunch overlooking the Potomac River. All in all, it was a great trip.

Getting back to the "new habits" though... I mentioned in my last post my desire to become more steadfast in my prayer life and I'm happy to report some changes since setting out do accomplish that challenge. I spend much more time in prayer now when I would've otherwise just let my mind drift. As my goal originally was to spend my walks to and from work in prayer, and that's been modified to spend my crazy, rushed, ride on the 6-E trains of NYC's illustrious subway system in prayer instead, it's been an interesting transition.

I'd love to have quiet time at home where I can devote a good hour of my day in silent prayer and reverence, but it's been kinda cool to force myself to be in communication with the Lord instead of muttering under my breath at how rude that guy is taking up two seats while the elderly lady struggles to hold onto the metal pole as she tries to maintain her balance, standing jammed between smelly people while the E train violently maneuvers its way along the tracks... So now, I find myself coming up with things to pray about that for whatever reason, I never made time for when I would say a quick five minute or so prayer after reading my bible. It is a challenge to stay focused, and I don't always remember, but I hope to continue this tradition of just speaking with God wherever I am.

Also, Steve and I are now praying aloud together before we go to bed. Usually, my routine would consist of my head hitting the pillow after Steve and I kissed good night, and immediately begin, "Dear Lord..." and after sincerely trying to devote one last moment of my day in prayer, I would inevitably drift off. Now, since we're praying aloud with each other, it forces us to remain awake for a few precious moments longer, while also giving us a precious moment together and a precious moment with Him.

This post is already becoming long-winded (although I don't really feel like it had much substance- I blame my tiredness!), and I'm sure you get the drift. Prayer is important. Obviously. These past couple of weeks have shown me that I can be in steadfast prayer even if my situation doesn't seem to conform to what might be an ideal setting, and I think Steve's and my new habit of praying aloud together each night is going to do wonders not just for our relationship with our Father, but with our relationship with each other as well.

Steadfast

Today we heard JR teach on the last chapter of Colossians. I rarely get many of those final chapters in the new testament- where the writer is thanking people, and mentioning all these seemingly random folks... and JR preached a whole sermon on it! It ended up being a great lesson though, and one particular challenge he gave to us is to be in "steadfast prayer." That really resonated with me, especially over these past couple of weeks with the onslaught of the school madness (side track- see below), as I've been very lax in my prayer life.

(School by the way, is off to quite a bang but going well, although this week will be the real test as lessons will be starting! All in all though, the train ride's not that bad cause I can *hopefully* be very efficient and get stuff done, and in the end, I think I'm gonna come out of this phase having learned an awful lot. It's been quite an overwhelming roller coaster ride as I try to "foresee" how crazy my life is going to become and attempt to plan everything detail by detail, but it's also been a good test in faith and trusting!!! Again, I'm sure more on this will come...)

But, back to steadfast. According to the trusty dictionary.reference.com site that I was directed to when doing a Google search, steadfast means:

1. fixed in direction; steadily directed: a steadfast gaze.
2. firm in purpose, resolution, faith, attachment, etc., as a person: a steadfast friend.
3. unwavering, as resolution, faith, adherence, etc.
4. firmly established, as an institution or a state of affairs.
5. firmly fixed in place or position.

Whoa. This word is loaded! The adjectives- firm, steady, resolute, established, unwavering- really stand out to me, and really convict me in how un-steadfastly my prayer time has become. My time with Him has been irregular, unfocused, random, drifting, etc, so now, the challenge is on.

Originally, I set out to:

"Spend my walks to/from work in prayer for an entire week"

Now that I'm only working at Lincoln Center three evenings each week (wordy side note- tonight is one such evening and is s-l-o-w, hence giving me the time to finally update the blog personally! Although, my husband did a great job with his post last week- I'm sure he'd love to hear from you and what you thought of this new found interest of his. Leave a comment and let him know!), I won't be walking through the dark and mysterious park when leaving at 9pm, so No. 18 on the list has to be a bit modified.

Since I have quite the commute to take the place of these walks, I'm determined to make this the week where I have very intentional and steadfast prayer, totalling at least an hour of my day (the time it would usually take to walk to work round trip), on the LIRR train or the 6-E trains, and hopefully kick start the beginning of a new phase of my prayer life.

Our church also holds communal prayer times at the church office called "Upper Room" and in private homes, but they both take place on Thursday evenings- one of the three evenings I'll be working at LC- so I'm hoping our community group can become more focused and intentional in our group prayer time, and Steve and I want to make an effort to spend more time in prayer as a couple together, as well.

There is so much to pray for - our world, our country, our city, our spouses, our families, our church, our friends, our neighbors, our co-workers, ourselves (!)- the list goes on. Hopefully I will really focus on each this week and not quickly pass by the many issues that need my prayerful, steadfast attention because my mind has become overrun by the many other thoughts that occupy my brain. I'll let you know how it goes and would appreciate your prayers on this one. :)