Breaking Bad Habits MUST Start Somewhere

It's a beautiful Friday morning and weekend fun is only hours away so I decided to pose a reflective question for the weekend.

What is your bad habit? or maybe, What are your bad habitS?

If you are honest, you have one. Can you pinpoint it? I'm not talking about the quirky idiosyncrasies author, Elaine W. Miller, discusses at the beginning of her book, We All Married Idiots: Three Things You Will Never Change About Your Marriage and Ten Things You Can. Elaine writes, "The dictionary revealed I had 'peculiar habits'. Well, don't we all? Anyone who isn't a little peculiar is probably a lot boring, I rationalized as my boyfriend bid his farewell."

We all have the peculiar habits Elaine writes about, so let's forget about these little nuances for a moment and focus on the bad habits getting in the way of time with family, friends, and most importantly...God.

Earlier this year I had the opportunity to share with the women at Fulton Alliance Church, along with their friends and families. The message was titled, "The Lake Where the Fish Are Always Biting". To demonstrate how we all have areas to change and grow in, I shared one of my bad habits. If you are reading this and remember me confessing my addiction with the game "Bubble Buster" on my Kindle Fire then you will appreciate today's blog more than most because you "saw" my addiction and struggle first hand.

I'm not writing this blog to say, "Look at me, I left the Fulton Alliance and never started my day with a game of Bubble Buster again." Instead, I am sharing to expose this terrible habit for what it is and demonstrate any bad habit you have can be broken with the help of God.

"For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength."  Philippians 4:13

A couple weeks ago I started to clean off book shelves and box up most the books in the house. We removed a wall of bookshelves to make room for an amazing gift of time, love, and sweet generosity. This may or may not make it to the blog. I'd like to keep it as something private between my parents and I yet the beauty of this gift is a priceless act of love, one that should be shared. Anyway, today's blog isn't about that but instead about a book I found while cleaning. It's titled, "Coffee Break with God".

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As soon as I saw it, conviction set in and I remembered sharing with the women how I would stop popping bubbles while I waited for the coffee to brew. Months later, this was still my pattern. Well, since finding this book I have been much better about playing my game first thing in the morning.

I placed this book on top of my coffee grounds so in order to make the coffee in the morning I must pick up the book. Instead of popping bubbles and getting frustrated because I can't beat  a level (as my second act of the day, next to making the coffee)...you can now find me reading the daily Scripture and devotional and reflecting on it until the coffee is finished.

Is there where I want to be? No, I'd like to be up early enough to crack a Good Book and write in my journal each day but rather than focus on what I'm not doing right, I'm celebrating this battle won. I might not reach the next level before school in the morning but I've earned far more than a new level...I start with peace and joy.

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What bad habit will you start to mold into a better habit today?