593: And now … Connect the Dots: Prayerfully consider your next step.


W
e say “prayerfully consider” your next steps in 2010, because 3 out of 4 respondents to our New Year’s Resolution poll chose “More attention to prayer” as a personal mission this month.
    We’ve already given you tools to fulfill your resolutions—all you have to do is connect the dots with our “Top 10” list of books to spark enlightenment and hope, which we published on Monday.
    The experimental survey instrument we used for this Resolutions poll continues to run—and you can continue to fill out the survey form … or you can keep checking the ongoing results, if you’ve already taken the poll. But, as of midnight, we’ve declared it officially complete and here’s the ranking of our collective affirmations.
    In 2010, we’d like to commit ourselves to …

    1.) More attention to prayer.
   
2.) Get physically fit.
   
3. and 4. tied) Devote more time to studying scripture. And: Reduce my level of stress.
   
5.) More time in the natural world.
   
6.) More time with family.
   
7. and 8. tied) Cut back on spending. And: Volunteer to help others.
   
9.) Find a more meaningful spiritual community.
   
10.) Attend worship more regularly.

    If you’re a leader in your congregation, I wouldn’t despair that “attend worship more regularly” ranked 10th out of 10. Our readers tend to be fairly active in their religious lives, so there may not be as much room to change in that category.
    It is interesting, though, that—at least among our readers—spiritual fitness ranks right up there with physical fitness.
    So, go ahead: Connect the Dots with our Monday list of 10 great books! Email us at [email protected] with your thoughts about all of this.

    AND: Especially if you’re within the Christian tradition, learn more about Twelfth Night and the end of the Christmas cycle occurring this week. (The illustration of Twelfth Night, below, is by Charles Dickens’ illustrator, “Phiz.”)

PLEASE TELL US WHAT YOU THINK:

    This is a good time to sign up for our Monday-morning ReadTheSpirit Planner by Emailit’s
free and you can cancel it any time you’d like to do so. The Planner
goes out each week to readers who want more of an “inside track” on
what we’re seeing on the horizon, plus it’s got a popular “holidays”
section.

    Not only do we welcome your notes—but our readers enjoy them as well. You can do this
anytime by clicking on the “Comment” links at the end of each story.
You also can Email ReadTheSpirit Editor David Crumm. We’re also reachable on Twitter, Facebook, Amazon, YouTube and other social-networking sites as well.
    (Originally published at https://readthespirit.com/)

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