My chem-engineer friend Chuck faced seasons of unemployment in his career along the way. Chuck and his wife were raising a family. The car needed gas. The fridge needed food. The utilities needed paid. Still, in those leaner periods along with the rest, Chuck and Diane had something priceless going for them. They were people of uncommon habit. As Christ-followers, they had been learning year after year to live out their faith in challenging but fruit-bearing ways.

They intentionally spent time in the presence of God. Each prayed when alone. They sought him together as a couple, trusting him to receive their offerings of thanksgivings along with their petitions. They gathered their three young ones around, engaging them, too, in practices of communion with God. They routinely worshipped in the company of fellow believers.

For Chuck and Diane, their practiced faith refused be confined to set times of religious activities. Their readings in and meditations upon scripture became more like an adventure into spiritual “dining.” The family tasted truth much as a poet of long ago had done.

The decrees of the Lord are firm…

They are sweeter than honey, Than honey from the honeycomb.* And, amidst his seasons of filling resumes and submitting CVs and doing job interviews, Chuck refused to sacrifice times of service in the Lord’s kingdom for less valuable things. While the family’s financial realities called for a bit of tightening the belt here and there, they were leaning into a special kind of principle. That the more enduring kinds of treasures were those found in seeking out special places where personal relationships could grow and flourish. The family pushed against parameters of a prevailing consumer-oriented culture.

Between those happy periods of gainful employment, Chuck and Diane kept being and doing what they knew they were designed to do and be. Serving up salt and light in their world,** Such a lifestyle grew and ma- tured as they implemented practices. The practices (disciplines) in turn, evolved into delightful activities that came as natural as breathing.

A family of uncommon habit. Being formed. Ultimately touching and blessing peoples and cultures even beyond their own.

*Psalm 19:10 **Matthew 5:13-14

-©2026 Jerry Lout Jerry Lout was raised in Okmulgee County. His two memoirs, “Living with a Limp” and “Giants in the Rough,” highlight the dual encounters with Polio and his decades living and working in East Africa. jerrylout@gmail.com, 918-857-4373