If you want to hear God laugh, sit down and tell him about your plans

I actually don't know if I'm back yet.

It's the first day of fall - an ember-gold harvest moon hangs in the east, giving lie to the heat that lay over eastern Virginia all day - which is an odd time for new beginings. But no stranger, I think, than six days past the winter stolstice.

I've been reading Word Among Us again. This month, the articles are focusing on Mother Theresa. One piece, written by Mother Theresa's biographer, emphasized that, for twenty years before starting her Calcutta ministry among the poorest of the poor, Agnes was a professed sister: praying, serving, living in community.

She didn't just wake up, at 21 years of age, and become the person she was to be, when she died.

I'm not the person I'd like to be, eventually. Perhaps I should get started on that, again.

***

It's very difficult, even on a long deployment, to make many major adjustments to one's life. Many years ago, starting a year-long assignment in a remote area, I was advised to pick three things to work towards, over the coming 12 months. I thought this was a bit low, but pick three things I did. I'll add some others in a few months, I thought.

At the end of the year, I found that I had accomplished one of the original three, and was very pleased with myself.

I think, as a trial, I will pick one habit a month, set a reasonable/sustainable goal, and focus on that one for that month. The next month, I'll add another, and try to keep the first one going strong. My intent is not to drop all the things I'm doing part-time and only so-so, but to establish a foundation, first, and let the others 'hang fire' for a day - or three - while focused on one issue.

In keeping with 'first things first', the first is to re-focus on my prayer life.

***

Via Instapundit - an interesting post on environmentalism as religion. Also includes some information on Christian 'Creation Care'.