My Spiritual Goals-Going Back to Church

I am not sure if "spiritual" is the proper terminology. I hear so many people describe themselves as "spiritual but not religious." Meaning, they believe in some greater spirit, but not necessarily God. Or, they mean they do believe in God but they don't attend any church or subscribe to any particular denomination.

At one point or another in my life I have fallen into both of the categories above. It was a progression for me. When I was in college and believed that an intelligent person couldn't possibly believe in God I wouldn't even admit in a greater spirit. Fortunately for me, I wrote a senior paper on C.S. Lewis and discovered a very intelligent man that convinced me that it was possible for an intelligent person to believe.

I grudgingly admitted that a greater spirit might exist and then moved on to identifying this greater spirit as God. I was still lost. I grew up Catholic, but was not sure if Catholicism was right for me. What exactly does that mean? I started my search for a place of worship with the wrong question. I was comparing how various dogma compared with my lifestyle rather than looking for what church has Authority. Unfortunately, I never found anything written by Lewis to help me with this question. For many reasons, I chose to return to Catholicism. (The reasoning behind it could fill a whole post on its own, so I won't go into detail here.)

Now that I have returned to Catholicism, I know the practices that I ought to follow and I know the importance of putting God first in my life, but I still am not doing it. Putting God first, is how I would describe being spiritual. It is the act of living your life according to the principals taught by Jesus. It is being thankful for each moment of your life, taking time to recognize your blessing and give thanks. It is taking time to reflect on your actions and compare your choices with what you ought to have done. It is taking time to learn more about what that "ought to do" really is. In other words, go to church and learn something that day.

My problem, as I'm sure it is with most people, is finding time to do this. I work full time and then come home and watch my baby son while Mom goes to work. The weekends are spent doing the same thing. On top of work and watching the baby, I have to find time to write; exercise; do the budget; cook dinner; learn more about blogging; create posts; research personal development, finances, fitness and health. I wake at 5 in the morning to get in as much of this as possible before work so that the time I spend with my son in the evenings isn't littered with distractions. Where do I fit God in?

The answer is easy: everywhere. He's already there anyways, right? When I wake in the morning bright and early I can take 3 seconds to say thanks for the day and acknowledge that God is with me. I can thank God for the meal I am preparing or when I eat it. I can thank God of the job that allows me to pay the bills and ask Him to guide us through the tough times. I can thank God for the health I have that allows me to exercise each morning. I can ask for inspiration when write. I can take my son to church on Sunday--it is still quality time that I get to spend with him and Him. I could go on...

My goals then:
1. Give thanks for the day every morning for thirty days.
2. Increase my attendance at church. I am going to shoot for 3 out of 4 Sundays this month.
3 Find one challenge each day and give thanks for it.
4. Reflect on God, faith, Christianity, etc..in a post once a week.

Perhaps these goals are rather weak. Believe me,it is much more than I have been doing. The main thing is that I take a step forward in my faith.