Practice Makes ?

I have been trying harder to live intenionaly and not let life just happen to me. Sometimes it seems easier to let things just happen and try to make decisions as things come. I always called this laid back and flexible. I am learning that being laid back has it's place and it's not super great for relationships with people and with God. Relationships take work. You need to think about them, communicate with one another, and practice discipline. Did I just say discipline? Oooo
For a year I went to a Bible based program to learn how to be a better follower of Christ, and I learned that it takes work. I have been re-reading a great book called Mudhouse Sabbath by Lauren Winner. Lauren was once an Orthodox Jew and is now a Christian. She writes this great book about 10 Jewish disciplines that the Christian church could learn from. In the introduction Lauren says "Madeline L'Engle once linkened spiritual practice to piano etudes: You do not necessarily enjoy the etudes- you want to skip right ahead to the sonatas and concertos-but if you don't work throught the etudes you will arrive at the sonatas and not know what to do. So, too, with the spiritual like It's not all about mountaintops. Mostly its about training so that you'll know the mountaintops for what it is when you get there."
It is encouraging to know that my desert times are trainging me for greater things. I am in training now, God is speaking to me and without practicing listening I won't get very far. I love that there are so many different ways to hear God. Sometimes it's frustrating because in times of need you want him to yell it out. But he speaks in many ways and you have to practice listening in all of those ways. I suggest reading Mudhouse Sabbath it is so informative and inspirational as well.
Let me know how you are practicing and any tips you have to hearing God are greatly appreciated.