The Need for Time

10 Things to Do If You Ever Get Bored:

1. Learn how to fake an accent.

2. Enter an elevator full of people and 'meow' occasionally.
3. Learn to peel a banana with your feet.

4. Put M&M's on layaway and then complain about the payment plan.
5. Rent a movie, 2 hours later go back to the same movie store and rent the sequel, 2 hours after that go back and get the third movie.

6. Walk up to an employee at Wal-Mart and tell him in an official tone, "I think we've got a Code 3 in  Housewares," and see what happens.
7. Walk around a public park and every so often pretend to step over an 'invisible' wire.

8. Sit in your parked car with sunglasses on and point a hair dryer at passing cars.

9. Count how many cars actually slowed down in # 8.

10. Race friends in the little electronic carts, offered at the store, throughout the parking lot.

　
As funny as the above list may be, I don't ever find myself that bored. If anything, I need more hours in the day. I find that I am either 'Magnificent Mom', 'Wonderful Wife', or 'Fantastic Friend'...but never all three at the same time. Then on top of that, to add any time for myself...unheard of. Why are we so busy these days? What consumes us to the point that twenty four hours is not enough time to live life? If I had a dollar every time I heard someone say, "I don't have time for that", I could hire someone to do my housework for me! My top 3 daily priorities:
1. 16 oz. coffee intake
2. Homeschool kids
3. Check Facebook, Blog site, Website, Emails, back to Facebook again

Pathetic, I know. I am having a 'good day' if I was able to do laundry, shower before noon, write my book, bake something or run an errand. I find myself wasting time and energy on things that don't really matter; reorganizing my cookbook binder, straightening the silverware drawer, and don't forget cleaning out the little laundry baskets that sit above my dryer. Did I mention that the baskets hold items that don't otherwise have a spot (aka: junk)? I have to ask myself, "What if I took all the energy put into the things that don't matter, and applied it toward things that would actually make a difference?" Say things like; daily devotionals, playing with my kids, lunch dates with friends and family.

I've mentioned my obsession with making lists in my previous story, "The Ultimate List". What I failed to mention is that I sometimes lack the ability to prioritize. I get distracted and side-tracked very easily. Now I know I am not alone in this battle. Yes, housework has to get done, meals cooked, errands ran...but where on your list are those items? Are they listed before your daily "talk with God", or perhaps they will get done after you have wasted countless hours on the computer fiddling around? For some of us, it is not the prioritizing, yet the ability to make a list at all!

We have a grandfather clock in my house, that was passed down to me by my grandmother. It gives me an hourly reminder of the time, by chiming on the hour. Unfortunately, I have become so use to the chimes, that I no longer hear them. What if the clock was a measurement of my day? The clock strikes ten...have I read my devotion yet today? Clock strikes one...have I told my kids I love them yet today? Strikes Five...have I done anything to benefit someone, other than myself, today? Nine...does my husband know how appreciated he is? With each day that passes, that is a day less to my life. If I had to watch a short movie reel of my life, most clips would show me doing busy-work. But out of that busy-work, I would say a small percentage is actually used to glorify God. The day my 'clock' stops ticking I want to be able to confidently say to God, "My time as a Christian was productive on earth.". Our goal should be to make the most of each and every day. To be productive and see results that aren't wasteful and meaningless. To be honest, just writing these devotionals three times a week takes a lot of thought and time. But...if it can touch just one person, then my time was well spent. Even in the non-spiritual activities that I am involved in, I can ask God to use me to His name. But be careful, sometimes our activities can consume to the point that even God gets pushed out of the way. So next time before you answer, "I can't, I don't have time...", you need to first ask yourself, "How will I otherwise spend that time?" 

Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NIV) "There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: a time to be born and a time to die, a time to plant and a time to uproot, a time to kill and a time to heal, a time to tear down and a time to build, a time to weep and a time to laugh, a time to mourn and a time to dance, a time to scatter stones and a time to gather them, a time to embrace and a time to refrain, a time to search and a time to give up, a time to keep and a time to throw away, a time to tear and a time to mend, a time to be silent and a time to speak, a time to love and a time to hate, a time for war and a time for peace."