IDEAL LIFE
rHYTHM
A set of habits you build to make loving God, and loving others a natural, automatic part of your daily life.
What’s a Life Rhythm…and Why Do I Need One?
Following Jesus isn’t an event. It’s a lifestyle. One that plays out in your habits. When you intentionally build habits to love God and others, you create a rhythm for carrying out the greatest commandments (Matthew 22:34-40).
We want to help you establish a rhythm that fits. So, our Christian planners, journals, and printables include tools for
rhythm building and tracking.
But seasons change, don’t they? New commitments, responsibilities, and opportunities impact the time and energy you have. They also influence the needs of people around you…and your own needs. So, our planning tools also help you update your rhythm, when God or the season calls you to change.
STEP 1: Identify Habits to Build
Complete the assessment at the beginning of your planner to identify your spiritual, relational, and health needs. Use the included questions and our Online Spiritual Habits Guide to choose habits for your rhythm.
SPIRITUAL HABITS GUIDE
STEP 2: Map Out Your Habits
These sample pages from our planners and journals will give you ideas for turning habits into a rhythm.
ABIDE & FOCUS PLANNER
1: Use the SEASON space to write one or both of the following:
- the dates for your season or quarter (example: January 1-March 31)
- a word or theme for the season (example: Simplify)
2: Use the DAY SPECIFIC section of your IDEAL RHYTHM to list habits you’d like to practice. For example, you could include having a quiet time each weekday morning.
3: Use the WEEKLY box for rhythms you want to practice weekly. They can be specific like a Sunday Sabbath. Or this space can remind you that once a week you want to schedule something like a special date with your child.
4: Use the MONTHLY space for rhythms you might practice once per month. For example, take a half hour to reflect and journal about the month, or volunteer with a church ministry.
5: The SEASON GOALS section of your planner is where you’ll list the specific achievements, projects, or lifestyle changes you wish to pursue during your season.
6: The space at the bottom of the page is flexible. Here are some ways you could use it:
- Write life maintenance routines such as Monday: laundry, Tuesday: grocery shopping.
- Write a life mission or intention statement for the year.
- List projects that are necessary but not essential goals (example: clean out attic for upcoming move).
FAITHFUL FIRST JOURNAL
Use the “DAILY” section to list morning habits, evening habits, or ones you’ll schedule as you go. You can include specific days you’ll perform habits like example #1. Or just list the number of times you want to do them, like example #2.
The “WEEKLY” (#3) and “MONTHLY” (#4) spaces are for habits you perform once a week or month. They can be for day specific (i.e. Sunday nap), or scheduled as they fit into your schedule (like your decluttering session and commitment review).
Finally, the “THIS SEASON” space can be for a specific action you want to take (perhaps take a one day retreat), or to list your theme/word for the season. In this example (#5), the theme is to simply!
STEP 3: Dig Deeper
Podcast Episodes
