My wife and I joined a gym.

We went to it a few times...

Then for a while we avoided driving past it, or went to the Frozen Yogurt Shop next to it and pretended we didn't see the gym... Kind of like an ex-girlfriend...

Time passed.

Summer hit, and life in ministry got busy, chaotic, and less predictable. Meanwhile my wife worked at a breakneck pace on her master's degree. There were very few constants.

Then it became fall.

School started back, programs started up, Parenthood season 6 returned to NBC. And we began to rekindle our relationship with the gym.

For the several weeks we have gone to the gym every week day at 6 am. It's horrible. But it's also wonderful. I'm discovering that rhythms are important.

I also like opening my work day with Shane Claiborne's Common Prayer for Ordinary Radicals. I've been doing this for a while, and half the time I'm not sure I "get anything" out of it. But the discipline seems centering for me and I appreciate the rhythm.

I've always preferred spontaneity, but I'm learning that establishing rhythms in my life is a good thing. Perhaps there's a reason God spends more time explaining "Keep the Sabbath Holy" than "Don't Murder." Rhythms are important... Now. If only I had realized this 5 years ago like everyone else my age...