WOMEN TAKING A STAND

TICK TOCK

The alarm clock lets me know it is 6:30 am. I would like to pull the covers up over my head, but life is waiting for me to address it, and the clock is ticking and time is getting away from me. As soon as I set my feet on the floor of my bedroom, the race begins….

Is your morning routine as hectic as mine? We have quite the routine down at our house Monday thru Friday. We do everything in shifts since we have one main bathroom to share. While one showers, the other eats breakfast. While one gets dressed, the other brushes their teeth. The morning rush around the house is done so magically that we could all do it with our eyes closed and still make it out the door by 7:40 am.

There isn’t enough time! Or is there?

We like to pray with our children before they leave for the day. However, I have to tell you that some mornings, the kids complain and say, “Hurry up I am going to be late.” It just does not seem like there is enough time in the day to do some of the important things. Is there enough time?

It appears that our morning routine may fall into what we call a “rut”. A rut is something that we do over and over, the same way, with no change and no excitement. WEBSTER defines RUT as “a fixed routine, usually boring”.

In last week’s YOUR OPINION MATTERS, I asked the question “what area of your life is in a rut?” The results of the poll indicate that many of us are in a rut. The votes in the poll revealed that we are mostly in a rut when it comes to our exercise routine, and another area of feeling in a rut was our Bible Reading. Just like our family morning routine, the ruts we fall into can easily be changed with determination and better use of our time.

To some of us, managing our day is moving hurriedly and systematically through the day, marking off our accomplished tasks from our lists. This is sometimes also referred to as “being in a rut”. There must be more than collapsing in bed at the end of the day, holding a crumpled paper filled with check marks that scream “Well done you busy bee!”

Some Christians think that busyness is related to godliness. However, managing our time may be about doing less. Life management is having the ability to:

• discern priorities,
• having the right perspective,
• learning when to delegate and when to say no,
• And feeling good about the choices we have made!

The Apostle Paul said it well:

“Be very careful, then, how you live – not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” Ephesians 5:15, 16

As we begin to listen for and follow God’s plan for our time, we will learn to master it and not be mastered by it! God created time and it belongs to Him.

Each of us gets 24 hours a day, no more, no less. We cannot put an extra hour in our day. We can, however, learn to make the best use of the time we have.

Jesus was pursued by friends and enemies, His every word was monitored, His gestures questioned, and His actions analyzed. But yet He was not rushed, He did not have to play catch up nor did He fall into a rut. His life showed a wonderful balance.

WHY WAS JESUS ABLE TO CONTROL HIS TIME?

1. He understood His mission

Because Jesus had a clear vision of His mission, not even Satan could convince Him to shortcut His Father’s eternal priorities.

MATTHEW 4:2-4 And after He had fasted forty days and forty nights, He then became hungry. (3) And the tempter came and said to Him, “If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become bread.” (4) But He answered and said, “It is written, Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God.”

2. He understood His own limitations & He knew the source of His power

His Private time, such as the 40 days in the wilderness and the prayer in Gethsemane was a priority to Jesus. He not only knew His limits, but He also knew the source of His strength.

MARK 1:35 “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there.”

PSALM 77:14 "You are the God who works wonders; You have made known Your strength among the peoples.”


3. He made intentional choices about His time

Jesus invested prime time, taking the disciples through the Scriptures, explaining the deeper meaning of His messages to the crowds.

MATTHEW 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow me.”

MATTHEW 11:1 “When Jesus had finished giving instructions to His twelve disciples, He departed from there to teach and preach in their cities.”

Jesus practiced this principle: Where your priorities are, there your time will be.

Today is the day to change the rut you find yourself in. Make an intentional choice today:

1. To seek a clear vision of the task God has laid before you
2. To understand your limits and know that God is your strength
3. To make an intentional choice today to give God your time

Thank you for being a Woman Who Takes a Stand and I believe as you purpose in your heart to be the Godly Woman He has called you to be, your time and priorities will be different.

Love and prayers,
Laurie

YOUR OPINION MATTERS: Please vote in this week’s poll, “What would cause you the greatest stress…”