I Need This Right Now!
The other day I read this great article called "Schedule a Buffer for Yourself," by Rick Warren. It is perfect for his time of year! Read the entire article HERE.
I'm guessing many of you have no white space in your appointment books. It’s absolutely crammed with appointments and reminders and tasks. You’ve left no margin in your life, no place for rest, and I think God would say, “This is not good!”
The truth is, you can’t hope for space in your schedule or pray for space in your schedule or expect somebody else to provide space in your schedule. If you’re going to free up some space for yourself, if you’re going to allow some down time and build some buffer zones into your life, you’re going to have to make the decision to do so. No one else will do it for you...
Here’s a fact about life: The faster you go, the more margin you need. If you’re going 70 miles per hour down the freeway, you want more than three inches between you and the other car, don’t you...
Why do we find ourselves having to work all the time? The Bible tells us very clearly that if we don't allow space into our schedule, if we just work all the time, we’re foolish. Ecclesiastes 10:15 says, “Only someone too stupid to find his way home would wear himself out with work.”
Don’t you like the Bible? It cuts straight to the point. It’s deals very bluntly and honestly with our struggles.
It reminds me of the guy who comes home with a big pile of work he needs to finish. His little kindergarten daughter looks at the pile and asks him why he’s working so hard and why he always has to bring work home. The father looks at her and says, “The problem is, I just don’t get it all finished at work so I need to bring it home and get it done here.”
The daughter looks up at him and says, “Daddy, I think they should put you in the slower group.”
Why is it we have to feel so important that we have to keep every moment of every day busy? Why do we stress load everything? Why do we have the mindset that everything has to be done right now, and wherever we’re going, we have to get there quickly? The truth is - life is not a race; it’s a journey.
If I really want to last in life, I’ve got to stop and realize there’s a whole journey of life to live. I’ve got to remember it’s not how fast I live that’s important; it’s how well I live...
So who's gonna be brave enough to do it?
posted by Pat Callahan at
11:52 AM
1 Comments:
To become biblical and leave behind all that the world has crammed down our gullet is complicated. Word service to the proposed life style change is easy, walking the line becomes a little tricky. Take my life for example. I know what I am to do; however I still try, very poorly I might add, to control the forces that strain my life. I have a great wife, who is patient and very kind. She has given me two wonderful children, a nine-year-old boy and a six-year-old girl. I work as a nurse manager for a hospital at the average of 110 hours every two weeks. By the time I get home every night I am physically, but more importantly mentally exhausted. As you can imagine, this causes difficulties at home. I know the trick is balance between the two, but again that is easy to say and difficult to produce.
Children are great at convicting you from time to time. You might say, “Out of the mouths of babes”. My daughter asked me just the other night, “Daddy, will you be home before I go to sleep tomorrow”? I must say…that hurt! It reminded me that I am not there for my family and am showing my children the example of how to treat their families when they grow to become an adult. That is just what the world needs, two more families that don’t take the time to raise the next generation.
I thought about my time at work verses my living lifestyle and decided there were unnecessary items in my life that do not have to be supported by my ever increasing work hours. There it is the answer! Live outside of what the world tells us and it can be done. I have the answer, now to apply it to my life. I went to work and asked my boss to cut back to four tens a week. I was flat told no my job is at least a ten hour a day job and I need to put in extra hours due to reviews being behind. I sadly informed my boss of my current 10.9 hours a day and that I could not increase those anymore. I added with a hint of sarcasm I will have to start working Saturdays and was told that would be fine. So, back to my knees I go.
I have now had the decision made for me. I told my boss that I will cut back regardless of what that means to the job. I should have a great Holiday season.
My point as I drone on forever…easier said then done.
December 17, 2006 6:31 AM
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