...like Jesus did it

Most of the people I know that really love God want to live like Jesus. They want to impact the world the way Jesus did. They want to help, serve, and love others the way Jesus did. Me too.

Here's a challenging thought I just read this week. If we want our lives to get the results that Jesus' life did, we should live the way He did.

No, we don't need to wander around the middle east. We all know that we should know the Scriptures and pray, but how about fasting?
Do you fast regularly as a part of your faith (not just on special occasions when you need God to do something)?
Do you practice solitude - getting away from EVERYTHING? (Yes, the world will get along fine without you for a few hours or days.)
Do you ever practice silence? (Try listening without speaking. It's quite an exercise.)
Do you practice simplicity? (Jesus said he didn't even have a place to lay His head. How much STUFF do we have in our lives?)

I'm thinking pretty seriously about engaging this "Jesus lifestyle" in some forms or another - practicing some new spiritual disciplines. (If this is a new concept, here's a paraphrase from a smart guy I love to read - Disciplines are practices we can choose to do with our bodies by which we receive that grace to do what we cannot do by direct effort.) For example, we cannot just will ourselves into better character. However, we can do other things (reading Scripture, meditating on the life & words of Jesus, prayer, fasting, etc.) by which we are likely to receive God's character forming grace.

I would love to hear from you additional observations on the spiritual disciplines you've observed of Jesus in the gospels. What was He doing (as a man) that kept Him always in the way of the GRACE that He would need to touch those around Him?