Bringing meaning to the checklist
Hi friends!
Do you ever feel like you are just sort of going through the motions in life? Without meaning to sometimes we get swept away in the busyness of our day-to-day and end up feeling a little disconnected—from ourselves, God, family, and other meaningful things. If you have ever found yourself in this spot, you are not alone! Let’s skip the shame and start talking about what we can do to get intentional in our lives! Let’s reconnect!
A lot can change when we start to bring purpose and intention to our daily choices. Even if what we do isn’t too different, there can be a drastic shift in the why and how. Rather than going through the motions and checking boxes, we can start to learn, grow, and connect through everything we do!
In the most recent general conference, speaking of the traditional “spiritual checklists” we hear about, Bonnie H. Cordon said—
“There is power in making these holy habits less of a checklist and more of a witness. The process will be gradual but will grow with daily, active participation and purposeful experiences with Christ.”
Notice how she mentions the process can be gradual? We don’t need to expect ourselves to go from hardly opening our scriptures to spending hours a day studying to become a professional scriptorian. Maybe the first step IS checking the box. Open the book and read a verse! But when we are ready to take the next step try bringing a question to your study, or maybe just start with a prayer in an effort to invite Christ into the practice. Small stuff, big impact!
Ok let’s take it to the next level. How do we make our spiritual habits and practices more meaningful!? Here are some ideas!
Feel Better in 5! Bringing meaning to the checklist!
Attend church with intention. Reach out to someone new, renew baptismal covenants, or increase your understanding of a topic that’s troubling you.
Pray honestly. Share your real concerns, articulate true gratitude (rather than forced gratitude), and ask for direction—even if the question is “Where do I start?”
Read the scriptures with a desire to expand understanding. As we bring our questions and concerns to our study, we might find that ideas and solutions come to us that aren’t even directly connected to what we are studying—it’s just spending time in the Lord’s words that helps.
Attend the temple with hope. We don’t have to check our heavy hearts at the door. Whatever is weighing on us, we can bring it to the temple with faith that the burden will be lightened.
Trust your effort is enough. “The Lord loves effort because effort brings rewards that can’t come without it.” President Nelson
Friends, we are made for more! And as we partner with the Lord we will find we are capable of things beyond our own capacities. Let’s not let overwhelm convince us we might as well not even try. Let’s not believe the adversary’s convincing claims that these simple “checklist” efforts aren’t worth our time.
Let’s try! Let’s connect! And let’s do it on purpose!