Wednesday, November 12, 2014

I never seem to have enough time!


We never seem to have enough time to accomplish what we really want. Projects go on for days, months and sometimes even years. We still haven't called that friend. We have been meaning to visit Grandma and Grandpa more. Busy, busy, busy, everyone is busy.

Like I said on Sunday, when you ask someone how they are doing the #1 response is "Busy." So what do we do? How do we change? Below is a powerful and thought provoking quote from Eric Hoffer.


The feeling of being hurried is not usually the result of living a full life and having no time. It is, on the contrary, born of a vague fear that we are wasting our life. When we DO NOT do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else--we are the busiest people in the world.

There is an amazing and mysterious truth that works for us when we decide to keep our priorities in line. Have you ever experienced this mystery before? On the days you get up and spend time in prayer and Bible reading, regardless of how much you have to do that day, you walk in peace and seem to get a lot done. On the days you don't spend time with God because you have so much to do, it seems like it is never enough. You always need just a little bit more time. Why is that?
When we do not do the one thing we ought to do, we have no time for anything else. We become the busiest people in the world.
Actions steps:
1. What are you top priorities in life?
2. Do you allow your priorities to dictate your schedule?
3. What changes do you need to make in your schedule in order to make room for what really matters?
 
PS You can listen to this past Sunday's message about this at http://www.wyandottefamily.com/media


Saturday, November 1, 2014

The beauty and mystery of going deep

As I was praying this morning I was reflecting on an element of life that many people miss out on every day. Every single one of us has the same opportunity to experience it but many go their entire lives and miss out.

I remember the awesome privilege Julie and I received to go to Hawaii for our 10 year wedding anniversary (4 years ago now...crazy). One extra activity that we did while we were there was a submarine ride to see the reef and bottom of the ocean. It was absolutely gorgeous. We saw many of the fish that are in Finding Nemo. We saw beautiful colors and many interesting things. The amazing reality is the deeper we went the more we saw and experienced. There was a whole lot we never would have seen unless we went deep. Another way to put it, if we settled just to stay shallow there would have been a lot we missed.

In life there is something special, meaningful and powerful when people can have deep conversations. The kind of conversations where we open our hearts and share our true selves. When we share our deep thoughts, desires, dreams, fears, joys and struggles. When we open up who we really are. When we get there we find beauty and mystery.

However, many people settle for the shallow. Many people stay up top and never get past sports, weather, complaining about government, restaurant reviews etc. All of these conversations are fun but they are lacking the real you. These conversations come from your head and not your heart.

Even if you are not a natural talker or even if you are naturally in tune with depth of your soul, I would encourage you to begin to take small steps to going deeper. When we take that next step and open ourselves up with someone we trust. When we share who we are and they share back. When we pray for each other and encourage each other. We find a beauty that will bring joy to our souls.