Why We Ate Dinner at 8:30 Tonight

Because of the time change.

Changing our clocks is a great idea. Daylight at times we are awake, saving energy, it's all great stuff. But there's one big problem.

Just because I change my clocks doesn't mean I have adjusted. I'm still tired, hungry, etc. at the same time I have been for the past few days (or weeks, or months). The number on the clock doesn't change that.

Until I make a conscious effort to change my rhythms to those numbers.

When I force myself to eat at the new time repeatedly, then my body will adjust and I will get hungry at that time. If I go to sleep at the new time over and over and over again then I will start to get tired when I should (or even better, if I wake up at the new time over and over and over then I will get tired when I should). The only way to adjust is continually follow the new time zone.

The same is true for our souls. It's amazing how often people want to go deeper with Christ so they start to attend church or try a Bible Study or whatever and we expect to feel holy and changed overnight. But that's not how it works. Our souls are still conditioned to our old lives. The only way change happens is by continual effort and conditioning to our new plan.

If you want to start going to church, you can't expect that going once (or twice) and not "feeling" anything is the fault of the church or God so you give up on church. You haven't given your soul enough time to start to grow into this new life. If you try serving once, hate it, and give up, of course it didn't work. A life of self-sacrifice doesn't happen with a half-hour service project. It takes serving over and over and over and over and over until it becomes second nature.

I now have two choices. Adjust to the new time and eat when the numbers say 6:00 or keep eating dinner at 8:30. Whether I like it or not, it's up to me.

T