Heart and Soul Reflections: Can a Modern Woman Practice Spiritual Disciplines?

training to act in accordance with rules; drill: military discipline.
activity, exercise, or a regimen that develops or improves a skill; training: A daily stint at the typewriter is excellent discipline for a writer.
punishment inflicted by way of correction and training.
the rigor or training effect of experience, adversity, etc.: the harsh discipline of poverty. behavior in accord with rules of conduct; behavior and order maintained by training and control: good discipline in an army.

Discipline is a scary word. Just looking at some of the words in the definition can send us running! Let's face it, no one wants to willingly place themselves in the way of "punishment inflicted by way of correction and training". It does sound like something that should be stuck in the stone ages.

Is this what's involved in exercising the Spiritual Disciplines? Have we come to expect punishment from God if we aren't following the rules, participating in bible study or having consistent quiet times?

Want the honest truth? I've avoided studying the disciplines for that very reason. I was afraid it was one more item on a "to-do" list with God that I just couldn't do. So if I didn't study them, I could claim ignorance, right? I'm sure you know the answer to that question!

So I finally(and by finally I mean years later) found a book that would walk me through the disciplines and give me a better understanding of the entire idea: Intimate Faith. A Woman's Guide to the Spiritual Disciplines by Jan Winebrenner.

I had no idea how wrong I was about the subject!

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{Will you come back tomorrow as I share with you all that I have learned? I hope to see you then!}