One of the characteristics of my life in the summer is that I don’t have much routine. There was some routine during our bicycle trip, but then it was over, then I was camping on the bank of the Brownlee Reservoir, sleeping on a cot in a tent, fishing 12 hours a day. Now I am at our son Seth’s home in Idaho hanging out with his family for a couple of days. I will be home on Monday and will try to get a bunch of chores and “honey-dos” accomplished, then on July 12th, I head up to Alaska where I will fish for salmon and halibut for 12 hours a day for a month. I will work hard at keeping my daily Bible reading, prayer time, and Bible memory goals current, but sometimes I am getting them done just before midnight, and I often find myself “speed reading” in my Bible reading. I have a goal to write for a minimum of two hours each day, to read 20 pages a day of good books, and to listen to at least one good podcast each day. But I am not always successful at keeping those goals, especially when the fishing is good. During the school year, from September through May, it is easy because I have a routine that I stick to, and a routine is a great tool for faithfulness and consistency in life. Establishing a routine in our life begins with writing down our commitments and goals and then establishing the time when we want to do them and sticking to that time commitment.

Most people have a simple routine in the morning when they get up. They take a shower, brush their teeth, get dressed, and eat breakfast, or whatever. It was established by habit. The more routines we establish, especially for important things that we want to be sure we get done, the more faithful we will be.