day 23 - big: time

31 Days Index

Do you ever have those moments when you're like? Oh. Wait, really?!? Of course. Thanks, God.

That would be me yesterday. For whatever reason, I kept switching around the date of this post about time. I've switched it 2-3 times I think...for no important reason...just because. And then God laid it aaaallllllll in my lap.

Yesterday at our new church home (yay!) I attended an awesome weekly event for women called Sisterhood. It's fellowship, teaching, and (of course) coffee! And wouldn't you guess what the teaching was on yesterday...?! TIME. Even more specifically, being intentional about your time.

Bam. Thanks, God.

It is my prayer that these words minister to you in some way. I take no credit for them! They are all a result of the beautiful teaching I heard yesterday as well as through the power of the Holy Spirit!! 

There was so much goodness I couldn't write quickly enough!!!

Everyone is so "busy." Schedules. Routines. To do lists. People to see. Places to go. Emails to return. People to feed. A house to clean. Dishes in the sink. Workout, maybe? There aren't enough hours in the day...right?!

But time is a constant. It's fixed. 

There will always be 60 seconds in 1 minute. 60 minutes in 1 hour. 24 hours in 1 day.
You can't change time. No human can. 

What can you do to be more intentional about your time? First, think about your priorities. Establish them. And, while you're at it, go ahead and make God #1 and your family #2 (even more specifically within #2 spouse then kids). These are non-negotiables.

Practice keeping #1 and #2 as "first things first." Always at the top. Always the priority. Before your to-do list. Before that "urgent" thing pops up. Because, you know what? (This is a new idea for me)...Priorities are a learned skill. (I was like...hold up. Wait? Really? Yep.) Again: priorities are a learned skill. 

So if your mind is trained to believe wholeheartedly that #1 and #2 are most important ALWAYS...won't it be easier for other things to fall into place behind your "first things first?" Because you know #1 and #2 aren't getting bumped. That's a skill I need to work on for sure!

[Super quick side note: A quote that I have written on my heart from our pastor at home... "Kids spell love T-I-M-E."]

Source

I'm just going to directly quote Harriet Blevins regarding this Scripture:

"Our time is marked by seasons...are the seasons that we find ourselves in intentional or haphazard?"

Think of the "seasons" like phases in life. For example, right now I'm in the married-with-no-kids phase. It's a season of my life. So am I just trying to simply get through every day just to get through it? Or am I living intentionally--with purpose--during this season? It's a question we should all ask ourselves regardless of what season of life we're in!

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As a final thought, soak on this: "There is a big difference between managing your time and being a steward of your time."

Stewards invest their time and lay their lives down for others. Let's be intentional about stewarding our time instead of simply managing it. Of course, we need to manage our time wisely because if we don't manage time, then time will manage us! But let's step up our game and be more intentional about stewardship.

When you invest your time (as opposed to just managing it), focus on "being a legacy builder." The time that you've prioritized...use it to leave an eternal mark in our world.

To Christ be the glory!! Love y'all.  Thanks for reading. :)