If you have any negative feelings toward the ascetic style or toward people who have that style, right now, spend a few moments in prayer asking God's forgiveness and for him to renew your mind. Ask God to help you separate the perils from the strengths of that style so that you might one day fully embrace the strengths.
Or...
Choose to go without a pleasure that you would usually enjoy today. It might be a meal, a show, a pleasant walk, affection, etc.
During the time that you would normally be engaged in that activity, make a list of 10 reasons from the last week for you to rejoice in God's love for you. Share the list with a friend.
-- Visit the web site: http://www.3colorsofyourspirituality.org
Memorise the Motto, Focus, and key Scripture for the ascetic style
Motto: developing discipline for God
Focus: sacrifice & inner values
Key Scripture: I beat my body and make it my slave so that after I have preached to others, I myself will not be disqualified for the prize. (1 Corinthians 9:27)
-- Visit the web site: http://www.3colorsofyourspirituality.org
Right now, spend a few moments in prayer asking God, in your own words, for a greater appreciation of sacrifice & inner values in your relationship with him. Say honestly how you feel about the ascetic style.
Be sure to leave yourself a moment when you've finished to see if God brings anything to your mind about the topic.
Note down anything you sense during this time.
Ich würde dir gerne mitteilen, wieso ich jeden Morgen um 5 Uhr auf dieser Veranda sitze und wieso das so eine reiche Erfahrung für mich ist. Der erste Grund ist, dass meine Kinder sicher in ihren Betten liegen und mich nicht unterbrechen können. Aber wieso mag ich es hier raus zukommen. Daran möchte ich dich ein bisschen teilhaben lassen.
I'd like to share with you a bit about why I sit on this verandah each morning at about 5 o'clock and why that is such a rich experience for me. The first reason is that my children are tucked safely in their beds and are unable to interrupt me. But why is it I like to come out here. I'd like to share a bit about that.
For Christians with an ascetic style, it is most natural to express their spirituality through a demonstration of their independence from material and worldly concerns. The strength of this style is its focus on a sacrificial life; its peril is the tendency to withdraw from the world (escapism)...Excerpt from The 3 Colors of Your Spirituality - Christian A. Schwarz