taking a leap

happy leap day! can i get an amen for an extra day??? gosh, i feel like i have needed an extra day each week... although, i do wish that the extra day were a weekend day instead of a monday but, i will take what i can get.

i'm sure you know this about me, but i am a schedule-dayplanner-routine-freak. it keeps our crew on the rails. we have a lot going on in the course of a week, and time is precious. we can't afford to waste moments. and i don't want to squander what i have been given to steward. aristole once said: "through discipline comes freedom." and i wholeheartedly agree. we are proponents of daily routines, schedules, plans, disciplines. just like with children, discipline is necessary. it forms, it builds, it sharpens, it hones, it polishes. it creates proper habits. it instills a sense of consistency, continuity, reliability. it molds hearts and minds and behaviors. with elinor lately, we have been using the phrase: obedience first. before the explanations and reasons and negotiations...obey. when obedience happens, good things can follow. our first response is very rarely one of obedience. we want to push back. we want to reason. we want to find our own way. but we need to realize that the path of obedience is the best path. it is a path of adventure. a path of beauty. a path of surprise and delight and twists and turns. it challenges us. it strengthens us. it gives us a story to tell.

there are moments when obedience means taking a leap. risking it. being bold and daring. stepping outside of the norm. going into uncharted territory, on faith. obedience doesn't mean doing the boring thing. an obedient life is far from dull.

today, i am going to be inspired by this peculiar day on the calendar. i am going to be inspired by the fearless spirits of my children. i am going to take a leap. seek out little and big ways to try something new. to do something outside of my routine. use this bonus day to experience bonus things. i am going to carpe this diem like nobody's business.