Special Time

A few nights ago, our family did what we call "special night time stuff" (catchy, huh?).  This is a time where about 20 minutes is spent one parent to one child where we ask each other questions and we tell true stories.  (We tried the make believe stuff, but it didn't fly.)  They like to hear about our pasts.  Adventures when we went to camp, how we were when we were their age, vacation stories from when we were young.  We try to do this every week 2x so that each kid gets contact with each parent.  

So the other night, my oldest , asked me, "Dad, are you going to do anything different this next year?"  Earlier that morning I had some prayer time with God and got the impression that I needed to spend "special morning time stuff" with God.  I have been pretty consistent for about 5 months of each day getting up and reading my Bible.  Part of the process has been looking for a word/verse to share with my other blog OneThought.net.  What this has been doing is it has been taking my focus off what I need to hear from God and focusing on what I think others need to hear.  My morning routine has become a bit longer because of this, but I can already sense the benefits to my walk with Christ.  

As leaders of others, we need to protect that which is most central to us - Christ.  It's kind of the put your own air mask on first before you try to help others.  I think once we shift into "output only" mode, it is there that stale religion and obligation can take root.