An Extra Day

How often do we wish for one extra day? I know I've felt that way near the end of a good vacation when I've wanted just one more day of relaxation. Perhaps it was while on a honeymoon or while having a great time with friends and family. In crunch time at work, I know I've often wished for one more day to get things done and get caught up.

I realized yesterday that I've been given the gift of one more day for this year. Instead of the standard 365 days to use, we have 366 due to leap year. It may not seem like much since the calendar keeps rolling along, but the truth is there is still one more day in 2016 than in 2015.

How should I spend this gift? Leap day has already passed me by, but that doesn't mean I can't take advantage of another day in the future and do something special with it. What do I do with this gift? What's the best thing I can do to take advantage of an extra 24 hours this year? I don't want to take it for granted and just let it pass me by. These don't come around every year after all.

Devoured

Those who have dogs understand what happens when you drop food on the floor. Most of the time you don’t stand a chance of picking that food up before it’s eaten. In fact, some dogs are able to get to it from another room before you are able to bend down and grab it. Our saying at the house is, “If it’s on the ground, it’s for the hound.” Any food item that bounces out of your control will be quickly devoured.

It’s like this with the passing of time in our lives too. If we lose our grip on it our time will be quickly devoured. It’s how a small detour online can quickly eat up an hour and derail your productivity and make you forget the path you intended to be on. I’m not proposing we eliminate every distraction and completely structure each minute of our day. There is just good wisdom in realizing that when time passes we can’t get it back. Hopefully this helps us be more strategic with some parts of our time and simply enjoy the others. Once it bounces out of our control it is quickly devoured and can’t be regained.

Manage the Clock

I remember watching an episode of a show when I was a kid about a woman who found a special watch. When she said, "Shut Up!" while holding the watch, time would freeze for everyone except for her. While it obviously freaked her out at first, she learned to use it for her own advantage. I remember being absolutely fascinated by the idea and dreamed of having that kind of power for myself. It would be the perfect way to always have the time to do the things I wanted to do.

Even as an adult the idea of having the power to stop time is attractive. I'd certainly be able to get more than enough sleep instead of eagerly anticipating a day off to catch up on lost snoozing hours. I would always have time to complete projects, keep up with my writing, and finish my constantly growing stack of books. I'd even be able to work on my (nonexistent) golf game and play more guitar. It's certainly desirable even if it's not possible.

As much as I might wish for it, there is no way for me to manipulate time. I have the exact same amount everyone else does and I have to decide how it will be used. While I don't always have full control over my schedule, I can decide how to best leverage the overall direction of my usage of time. I can structure how the pieces affect me and how they are helping me to become the man I desire to be. I've got to be intentional about setting objectives and putting in things that matter to me for both short-term and long-term gain.

I can't stop the clock, but I can figure out how to manage the resource I've been given to take me in the direction I want to go.

Caring Takes Time

Our lead pastor shared a phrase in his message a few weeks ago that very accurately described something I often feel. He said, "I can't care for all the people I care about." It's a true statement that doesn't diminish individuals or genuine concern, but recognizes our limited personal capacity to connect.

I would reiterate his statement and also expand it to include the fact that I can't care for all the things I care about. This means that there are many programs, projects, initiatives, and ideas that I want to see succeed. The truth is that I can't give them focused attention due to my limited supply of time and energy. This doesn't indicate my lack of concern for something or my lack of understanding of its importance.

If I want to develop healthy relationships and direction attention where it belongs, I have to narrow my focus. Learning to fully engage in limited areas is a difficult lesson for a caring leader. Choosing to do otherwise deprives others of a chance to lead and leaves far too many people and projects uncared for.

Tell It

Money & time are two commodities that are usually in short supply. The truth is that both of them will be entirely used up. If we want to be more efficient and effective, we need to learn to tell our money & time how they will be used. If we don't schedule and budget we will still find ourselves with money and time gone, but without any idea of where they went. 

We will control both commodities better when we have a plan and stick to the plan.

Making Time

I spent some time today driving to Atlanta and back for a meeting. I will readily admit that I don't love the traffic in Atlanta. In fact, it makes me appreciate driving in Milledgeville each time I have to pass through there. The good part about the combined four hours of driving is that it gives me time to think and to listen to podcasts. This way I can listen to other leaders, pastors, and authors and use it as a time of personal development. It takes some dead time on the road and makes it more beneficial. Honestly, I should regularly carve out that time each week, but it sometimes takes a road trip to make it happen.

I recognize the importance of being mentally stimulated and challenged and while it happens in various ways throughout the week it's a practice in which I need to be more disciplined. Setting that time aside on a consistent basis will open my mind to new possibilities and help to reshape the way that I view things. It's something that all maturing leaders should take part in.

Limited Resources

If I gave you $113 you probably wouldn't have a hard time spending it. There are bills to pay, things to be repaired, needs for our kids, and groceries to buy. You might choose to go shopping, take your family out

for a good meal, or blow it all in a poker game. Whatever you choose to do, you would have a lot of options and probably wouldn't debate for too long- especially with an amount as small as that. 

At midnight tonight there will be 113 days left in this year. They are a more valuable resource than money and have the potential to change your life in a more powerful way than $113. Much like a windfall of cash it can be gone very quickly with only fleeting memories of how we spent it or we can choose to leverage what we have to create the best opportunity for growth and personal change. It won't happen accidentally or by some random chance either--we need to plan carefully and step into action to see the results we want. 

Only 113 days left in 2013. What will you do with them?

Economy of Time

Earlier this morning I was reflecting on my career of nine years of athletic training/high school & now ten years of ministry. I hit me that it has been 19 years since I left college at the age of

23-a year later than I expected since I took time off for financial reasons. I didn't think much about it then (it just seemed necessary,) but now I see a year that could have been used for other things. I understand the perfection of God's plan and that it was simply part of my story, but it makes me think very carefully about the time I have right now. 

I don't want to waste the moments that I have been given--each day that passes is another day closer to my children leaving the house and the decrease in my direct influence in their lives. Each day that passes is another day of preparation for the future that is gone--whether I used it wisely or not. The people that I pass by will not be in that same location again--not in the same moment of need. Each interaction is uniquely crafted by God and we can either speed through & waste it or invest our full energy into downloading the most potential energy from it.

Time is one of our most precious commodities--it's interesting how callously we treat this valuable resource that we say we are eager to protect.

525,600 Minutes

My youngest daughter & I spent the afternoon together running errands around town and enjoying a daddy-daughter Starbucks date. I love spending one-on-one time with her and hearing the thoughts that are rolling around in her head. As she and I talked about the end of the year, she expressed her disbelief that 2012 is coming to an end and that we are about to begin another new year. I understand exactly what she was saying--it certainly seems like the year has sped by without a whole lot of advance warning.

The truth is that we all have the exact same amount of time in a year. It isn't portioned out differently if you are busier than most, wiser than your peers, or have more money than the GNP of a third world country. We don't lose increments of time when we choose to speak rashly, sleep longer than we intended, or keep repeating our mistakes. This timely gift we receive each year is the same regardless of social status, geographic location, ethnicity, or religious beliefs.

The results of the investment of our time will be what separates us from everyone else. We have the potential for our families to grow stronger, our confidence in God to increase, our impact to multiply exponentially, and our spirit to be transformed. Our 525,600 minutes move forward at the same rate as everyone else. With the right focus, however, the results of our efforts bring greater satisfaction and reward.

What Time Is It?

There are two Greek words that describe the concept of time-chronos  and kairos. The first term describes the sequence of life events as they occur while the second refers to unique moments of interaction and revelation. We need to observe the chronos or we will pay our bills late, miss anniversaries & birthdays, and never show up to work on time.  We are usually focused on the "get 'er done" mentality of crossing things off our list and worry more about chronos. For real growth and life fulfillment it is more important that we pay attention to the kairos moments in life-the fulfilling time when God speaks to us. 

Can we see those God-speaking moments in our life? Do we remember when He gave us instruction, direction, or discipline? If we don't feel we have had those then what can we do to be more alert? He obviously hasn't changed and still desires to communicate with His people-He always has. I would argue that the lack of kairos moments is a result of our inability to clear the path for communication and our poor listening skills.

If we aren't hearing from Him it isn't because He has lost His voice. Perhaps it's because we've lost our desire to listen to what He has to say.

A Time Like This

In the book of Esther, the young woman of the same name is presented with an interesting opportunity. She has been placed in a position of power and now has to make a choice. She can take a risk and save her people, but it might also lead to her own death. Her uncle Mordecai challenges her to take action in Esther 4:14 and says, "And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"

How differently would we approach each day if we would make decisions with this verse in mind? If we would realize that God continues to strategically place us in the right place and time for His glory it would alter our perspective. We would see the opportunities that are in front of us-both big and small-and would take advantage of them. Not only would this lead us to fulfilling God's plan for our lives, but we would see our faith increase, our families grow closer together and a church that is unstoppable in sharing the message of Christ.

We are here today for "such a time as this." What will we do with it?