Holy Habits and Righteous Routines

My mom shared with me a post from my dad's second cousin.  I think there is a great message here.  Anyway, I thought I'd share this on our blog.

Hello Everyone,
I was just visiting with my good friend, Amy Andreason yesterday and we got to talking about a concept I had heard from President Samuelson at BYU. He spoke about the importance of having "Holy Habits and Righteous Routines" and encouraged us to make a list, as he has, of these in our own lives or what we would like to have happen in our lives.

I got to making my own list as well as one for my family here at home. They were both actually quite long and as President Samuelson said, "I am adding to my list often." I started to thinking that it is these habits and routines that help make much of who I am. "As a man thinketh, so is he." My actions are an outcome of who I am and who I become. These actions make up our family culture to a great extent.

Then Amy told me that in some materials she was reading it was suggested that we be "decisive in our parenting" and not just let things happen, but MAKE things happen. Be proactive in our parenting. She talked about the idea of prayerfully making a "Master Inspired Plan" for our families. She said that she learned that the more detailed the better.

It could include things like: experiences we want our children to have, books we want to read with our children or encourage them to read, places we want to visit. I wish I had thought more about this kind of a thing when I was a young mother. I know it's not totally too late. I still have a family, it's just harder to get us together, but not impossible, and we can encourage each other. But I thought I'd just put a thought in your minds as many of your families are all so young. Be proactive. Make plans with and for your children. You will accomplish much good, or more than if you just hope things will happen.

I encourage you to make a list of habits and routines you personally already have as well as your family. (No you don't have to share it with me, unless you want to, that's not the point) Bad habits and routines harm us (getting to bed late, eating unhealthy foods, not regularly expressing love etc.) Good habits and routines are nice because it leaves out the necessity of deciding over and over and over.

Here's just an example of one of ours family routines: each morning after we get up we sing a hymn, have family prayers, eat breakfast and have family scripture study. We don't even question it. It just happens every morning.

We also have habits to do with physical things (bodies and surroundings), and social things,(family and friend gatherings) and spiritual things (study and meetings), and educational things, etc. The list could go on and on.

I think when we are truly the most happy, it's when our lives are made up of many, many righteous routines and holy habits. That's not to say that there aren't flexible times, or times when we are more impulsive, but I think when we fly by the seat of our pants all the time, that much less is accomplished and those precious moments will be gone before you know it.

Try it, or not, but let me know what you think. I'm going to keep thinking on this.

Love,
Mom, Jane and Aunt Jane