My newest challenge

I have an interesting habit of setting odd, spur of the moment goals for myself.

Running every day for a month (which turned into a marathon-running addiction), reading a certain number of books in a week, and then there was the summer that I decided to just randomly go vegetarian.

I see, hear, or read something interesting and all of a sudden it's like I'm daring myself to do it.  Motivation has never been hard to come by for myself.  I was the student in college who had the term paper done with three weeks to spare.  Of course that doesn't mean that the challenge isn't "challenging" for me.

A little over two weeks ago I embarked on yet another "challenge".  Turning off my car radio for a month.  Using the time in my car a little more intentionally and allowing more "quiet" time for God to speak to me.  I love the radio.  And I love to blare the radio and zone out mentally when I drive.  Definitely wasn't going to be easy.

Honestly, the first four days were brutal.  I now understand the phrase "silence is deafening" a little better.  It had me crawling out of my skin; I truly felt uncomfortable.  For whatever reason the absence of music forces my mind to stay aware--no zoning out, no momentary escapes from reality.  Now 18 days into my car radio fast it's slowly becoming more normal and not quite as jarring.  And it definitely allows time for intentional conversations with God that would be missed otherwise.

I'm not entirely sure what prompted me to challenge myself this month, but I'm glad I did.  18 down, 13 to go.

What are your personal challenges?