CREATIVE CHARTING

 

A chance encounter with a college student on an airplane provided the idea for a yearly chart of spiritual disciplines. She was not using her chart in this fashion, but the impetus was there for a very valuable resource for spiritual development.

Take a sheet of paper and draw a graph, twelve across and thirty-one down. Label the top in accordance with the twelve months of the year and the side with thirty-one days of the month. Those without thirty-one days can be adjusted at the bottom.

Use colored markers to indicate the spiritual discipline which had the greatest impact on you for a particular day. Squares can also be divided to indicate more than one discipline. You don’t need to wait until January 1 to start. You can start tomorrow with the square that represents September 28.

I have chosen five spiritual disciplines for this particular chart. Use those, or substitute some of your own choices, like meditation, rest, music, or church attendance. Consistent completion of the chart will result in an overall annual look at the impact spiritual disciplines have on your life. At the same time, filling out the chart daily will be a constant reminder of the growth in grace which God intends for each one of us.

Happy charting!