Practice Makes Perfect

Many of you may not know this (its a carefully guarded secret) but I like to play the guitar. I have no sense of rhythm, I can't sing, and can't read music, so I tend to close myself up in the "man cave" and play and sing to the four walls. If anyone, even my youngest child, walks into the room, I instinctively stop playing.

I've been playing like this off and on for almost twenty years, and other than a six lessons at the YMCA when I was a teenager, I've had no formal training. Various people have tried to bring me out of my guitar case (. . ahem . .) to no avail. Once, my brother (now a Methodist minister) even tried hooking us both up to an amp, and turning his guitar all the way down low, but I caught on.

Now that I'm forty-freaking-years-old, I've decided that its time to grow out of my musical shyness. As such, I've tried to improve my playing a little (the singing is helpless, so brace yourself) by following some online lessons available on YouTube.

The video instructor keeps harping on the need to practice every day. He often says "just give me ten minutes a day, and soon all of this will be second nature."

Well [gears spinning], we've now been at the daily Lenten updates for a little over a month. And I can report that it is indeed becoming second nature. I catch myself thinking about things from a spiritual context more and more - I've even composed a blog update in my head while shaving a time or two.

Its all very 'Reformed Theology' you see - its e-sanctification, I guess. My daily updates are making me think about my spiritual life in a more purposeful way. God's grace is such that it takes advantage of this intentional time, and makes it more a part of my mental makeup.

Any of you have a similar experience?