It's Christmas, so...

Around this time every year, I find myself reflecting and evaluating where I am at spiritually, gauging where I would like to be, and scrambling to somehow bridge the gap between the two. This year seems to be just like the rest. I can't help but think about how I wish I were doing a better job of being like Christ. Try as I might, I feel like I fail time and time again. I usually end up journaling about it, because getting my thoughts organized makes me feel like I have some kind of plan of action in place.
So what's the scoop this time? I constantly find myself wishing that I were demonstrating more patience, kindness, and gentleness in my life. Let's be honest, I could definitely use more love, joy and peace as well. I know that if I had more of these readily evident in my life, they would be far reaching into every part of my day.
So what do I do and how do I get there? I know that the number one thing that I've been missing is a community of Christians to share fellowship with. Our family hasn't consistently gone to church since Judah was born. It is a crappy thing to blame our lousy church attendance on the fact that we have two young children, but it has sadly been our crutch for a long time. We've averaged about once a month this past year, which I can confidently say is an improvement from the year before. So, my new aim is to get to church twice a month.
It seems that when we are attending church "regularly" (I use the term loosely), I am drawn to read my Bible. The two naturally go hand in hand for me. It's not that the Bible is less important than physically stepping foot inside a church, but I know that when I do, the other will easily follow behind.
In turn I know that these two things will have a positive effect on me, which will spill over into my everyday life - my marriage, my parenting, my duties, my friendships, my life.
In conclusion, church is no longer an option. It is a requirement. No more late Saturday nights which cause groggy Sunday mornings for the whole family. No more putting sporting events in place of our spiritual health. No more lazy excuses.