Habitize: Doing what you are called to do repeatedly.
Habits are Contextual.
At the end of 2019 I embarked on a three months journey of health where I ended up losing 3 dress sizes and 40 pounds - and I also slept better, felt better, and thought better.
How did I do it? I had a meal plan that offered enough variety for six weeks that I could repeat and stick to. I also had a workout plan for 5 days a week that I did at 5:15 every morning because that fit in with my schedule. These habits actually made it easy to continue with the plan into 2020.
Then the Pandemic hit. The first few days of sheltering in place resulted in lots of snacking. My college aged sons were home and they can eat and do eat ANYTHING. I also slept in more so my workout routine needed to be adjusted. I knew that if I didn’t act quickly I would undo all the good that I had done in 2019. So I restructured my eating plan and workout plan so that it could be done at home and with the snacking triggers being tamed.
Good habits give us boundaries to keep our bodies, minds, and souls healthy. Most believers view worship as a habit and when their normal ways to worship went away their souls felt lost. They had to learn new ways to worship in their homes in order to keep physical and spiritual health during a pandemic.
When we talk about changing the world through Holy Mischief we need to realize that one act can change the world but making it a habit or way of life can transform the world. It can cause exponential change that shapes generations.
Don’t believe it? Then think about how you watch TV. When I was growing up I was in the habit of looking at the printed TV schedule to plan out what I was going to watch at what time. Now we stream TV. I don’t plan out my viewing. This one changed transformed how I engage with programming forever (not to mention I don’t get a newspaper and I can watch these programs in any location and on any device)
That’s a small example. But how about a bigger one? What if you randomly decided to do something nice for someone today. Out of the blue you paid them a compliment or bought a stranger dinner or wrote a note to an old friend. You’ve just changed that person’s day and the people that they interact with. Your act of Holy Mischief cascades to change lives. Including yours.
Do that repeatedly and suddenly you’ve got a movement of Holy Mischief -breaking through the noise of this world and transforming it into something even more beautiful.
Until Everyone Hears,