Rule of life. Have you heard the term before?

A Rule of Life contains spiritual, relational, and vocational rhythms needed to sustain the life in Christ we’ve been called to, and it doesn’t change much year in and year out. via

A rule of life is a commitment to live your life in a particular way. It is meant to be crafted with prayer and discernment, in partnership with God, as you consider the way God made you and the values He has inscribed upon your heart. Once written, it serves as a tool that can help you make decisions for your life and determine how best to order your days. via

It was summertime and we were hosting friends from out of town. They asked how they could pray for me and I said, “I want to be a deeper person.”

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I had also just learned about ‘rule of life.’ So after they left and the desire stayed with me, I went to work praying and reflecting and writing. I referenced back to it for most of that year, but then it faded. New habits were formed, which I’m grateful for, but I never looked at it again. It was a step of real growth and asking of God, but for the season I’m currently in, it’s too complicated, too wordy, too long for me to use it as a filter for making decisions. All of it is still true of my heart, what and how I desire to be, but I want something practical and simple to help me stay aligned to God and how He’s uniquely wired me to walk in and contribute to the world.

A Rule of Life is an intentional, conscious plan to keep God at the center of everything we do… The starting point and foundation of any Rule is a desire to be with God and to love him (Scazzero, 196).

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A verse to live by: “I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. I do not set aside the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!” Galatians 2:20-21

Every day, the world will drag you by the hand, yelling, “This is important! And this is important! And this is important! You need to worry about this! And this!” And each day, it’s up to you to yank your hand back, put it on your heart and say, “No. This is what’s important.”

Iain Thomas

A phrase to filter decisions through: Love well and let the rest go.

Love the Lord wholeheartedly. Listening to Him, learning from Him, following His lead. Love my neighbor, those in my home and outside it, generously and sacrificially. Let the rest go – being popular, put-together, or impressive by the world’s standards. Cultivate a rich, deep, joyful life with God and others and let the rest take third place.

Thomas Keating wrote, “When the presence of God emerges from our inmost being into our faculties, whether we walk down the street or drink a cup of soup, divine life is pouring into the world.”

I’ll walk with Christ and work with Him—watch how he does life. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. He won’t lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on me. I’ll keep company with Him and learn to live freely and lightly…. with others, as well as my own soul, in mind. #

A question I’ll continually ask: does XYZ help me love God and others or does it hinder?

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Ps – ring from Stamped and Finch. :)