"Bond. James Bond."

I'm a huge 007 fan. It started from an early age, actually, with my dad being the source of my fandom (I don't think that's a word, but I couldn't resist). As I was growing up my dad and I started a tradition that once a year (usually every fall) we'd go through the entire 007 series, starting with "Dr. No," and up to the current. Now that I'm married and my wife and I live in another state, it's important to me that I keep up this tradition...occasionally calling my dad to let him know what movie in the series I'm on. In honor of the recent 007 that's hitting the theatres today, I started my 007 series. It took me about 2 or 3 weeks to get through, but I just finished the latest "Casino Royale" a few days ago. My wife and I are going to a nice theatre on Saturday to enjoy the "Quantum of Solace" experience. This place only allows 21 year olds and up (because they serve alcohol...don't worry, I'll have a pop...shaken, not stirred, instead). They have two chairs linked together that equal the size of a love sofa, seat warmers, and servers that serve you food during the flick. You purchase your seats in advance, so there's no waiting in lines because your seats are waiting for you when you arrive, and everyone there are serious watchers, so there's no cell phone annoyances, loud discussions, etc. All of this does require a little more out of your pocket, but for me it's worth it. So much so, that I passed up free tickets to see a sneak peak early Thursday evening. I'm excited to see Quantum of Solace. I'll enjoy every part of it (good or bad), even the approximate 10 times that my wife will tell my during the flick, "James Bond is such a womanizer."

Habits

What does the word "habits" bring to mind? I know that several (including myself) tend to initially associate "habits" with a negative connotation. In my life I have several habits. All are the cause of choice. Some are good, and some are...well...not so good. I even have habits with my personal time with God. I remember in college, my professors would always announce to us that the habits we develop during our time in college are the habits that we will face throughout our lives. And were they ever right. During my college days, I kept myself so busy with this and that that the last thing on my plate was my personal time with God. Now, I face a struggle of habit; saving my personal time with God for the last part of my day. However, I often find myself either skipping it because I'm too exhausted, or just going through the motions of spending time with God. Consequently I've decided that I must change my habit, and develop a new habit. The new habit is making God the first priority of my day. I know for many this is not revolutionary, but for me this is. For me to thrive with God, God must be first! Not only in words and certain aspects of my life, but in action and all aspects of my life. I'm so thankful that we " [...] continually work out our salvation [...]" (Phil. 2:12, NIV). For me, one area of focus is destroying a habit of giving God something other than first place, and instead developing a solid new habit of putting God first in my days.

For a great read on "habits," I'd like to recommend the book series "Habitudes: Images That Form Leadership Habits & Attitudes" by Dr. Tim Elmore.