I've always been a big fan of martial arts movies, and Jet Li is one of my favorite martial arts actors. Over Christmas Break I watched a collection of movies to pass the time, and his most recent (and some say his final) movie "Fearless" was one of them. It's not the best Jet Li movie I've ever seen (my personal favorite is "Kiss of the Dragon"), but "Fearless" nevertheless had a very good story-line. Near the end of the story, Jet Li forms a martial arts school called the "Jingwu Sports Federation." A very brilliant character, he forces all of the school's students to undergo three sets of disciplines. If any student refuses to adhere to any set of disciplines, he is not allowed to join the institution. The three disciplines are:

1. Discipline of the Mind
2. Discipline of the Body
3. Discipline of the Spirit

Discipline of the mind involved various studies; discipline of the body involved the actual discipline of martial arts; and discipline of the spirit involved something else, but I saw it nearly a month ago, so I forget what it was :). As I watched the movie, I thought, "Hey! Instead of just wandering through my days aimlessly, I should put together a discipline." It's not an original idea; people have been doing it for centuries (though in our Western world, it is rather uncommon). So here's what I've been thinking about lately in regards to my "disciplines." Any questions, comments, and concerns will be appreciated.

The Discipline of My Mind: I want to spend time each day studying to achieve my goals in life. Primarily, this involves studying for my classes at school and even doing extra-curricular studying to improve my own intellect over certain topics or subjects that I wish to know more about.

The Discipline of My Body: While it'd be cool to know martial arts, I'm taking a different spin on this. I want to discipline my body in such a way that it is a holy instrument for God. This involves eating healthy, living healthy, and exercising. It is quite a difficult thing to do, but I know it can be done. It will be very hard at first, but it will get easier as time progresses.

The Discipline of My Spirit: This one is simple: I want to grow closer to God. I want to experience Him, taste Him, bathe in His presence and hear His voice. Some say that this is not possible; such individuals are either those who are too caught up in knowledge and lacking in experience, or those who have never really experienced God. "I have experienced God. He is real. And He wants me to experience Him more." How will I do this? Through daily disciplines of prayer, meditation, scripture-reading, and fasting. As I grow closer to God, my heart will be transformed and my behavior will be realigned as well. Mostly I want to grow closer to God because I love Him and want to live my life beside Him.