Get Out of A Bad Routine


It may seem weird to those of you who see me every Sunday at Highlands, but there was a time when I didn't attend church. It was right out of college and I was burned out in general, and burned out on church in specific.

I had attended Christian college where I was surrounded by the Bible and Scriptures. I was a little burned out on "church," and that made it easier for me to fall into an unhealthy routine. For me, it was a total devotion to the NFL.

I worked pretty much six days a week covering sports, often at the office or in the field Monday through Saturday, so by the time Sunday came along, I was spent. Then I found Direct Sunday Ticket. For those of you not familiar with this magical gift from heaven, it's a package on satellite that offers every game in every market on Sundays. Every game. And it has a channel that has eight games playing at once.

So a new Sunday routine was born. I'd get up at 8 a.m. I'd get coffee and watch regional pregame. Then I'd watch pregame at 9 a.m. Then I'd watch 1-10 games at once at 10 a.m. Then I'd watch games at 1 p.m. Then I'd watch pregame/highlights until the night game began at 5:30 p.m. Then I'd go to sleep. That was my Sunday in the fall. I looked forward to my 15 hours of football each week, and I savored the game days. It became my ritual, for a couple years.

Then, in April 2006, I stumbled onto Highlands. In returning to church, I found that I was filling a place and a need I didn't ever realize was empty. As I dove into church, the calendar raced toward fall. And, finally, the new football season arrived.

That is where I first let God break into my ritual. Instead of pregame, I attended the 9 a.m. service, then raced home for games. But as church expanded, the demands on my time Sunday mornings increased. And I began to let God, and time spent in worship and his service, fill that time that used to be devoted to the shield of the NFL.

I still love the NFL, and I still spend a good chunk of Sundays in the fall watching games in the afternoon and evening. But as much as I loved my NFL ritual, it didn't give my soul what it really needed. Being at Highlands on Sundays does.

If you open yourself up to it, God can break into your rituals and fill you in a new way too.

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