Time Management Tips

I've always been pretty good at using my time well. I'm almost organizational to a fault. I have learned to relax a little, but I enjoy things being in their place ... and feeling like I go to bed having had a productive day.

So - if there's a chance you want to ramp up your time management - here's what helps me:

♥ A Small Notepad ♥

I keep this in my purse, and it is where I keep my to-do list, my meal planning ideas, and any random thoughts or ideas (which happens A LOT).

♥ To-Do Lists ♥

I make a list each morning of things I want to accomplish by the end of the day - usually in the order I will try to do them. When I cross them off, I move on to the next task. I find it keeps me from sitting down on the couch to "think about what I should be doing," which usually leads to turning on the TV, snacking, and wasting time. If I don't cross it off, I keep it on the list for the next day. No guilt.

Today's Example To-Do List:

√ Grocery Shop
√ Laundry
√ Unload the dishwasher
√ Dinner: Chicken and lemon-basil pasta
√ Pack lunches
√ Quiet time
√ Bones on TV (8pm!) - can't leave that out
√ Work Out

♥ Meal Planning ♥

I take notes in my notepad for meal ideas for two weeks (I try to grocery shop for two weeks at a time, but you can do one ... three ... four ... whatever!). Then I have a weekly, dry-erase calendar on my fridge where I post our meals for the week. This is actually really helpful because if I know what I need for dinner, I can set it out in the morning. I found early on that if I came home tired from work and had no clue what to fix for dinner, we ate out A TON - or ate junk. It also helps because I use my two-week plan to make a grocery list. I get the stuff we need, and it cuts down a lot on wasting food and grabbing junk off the shelves because it looks good. This also helps because Brent can see when it's his turn to make dinner. I just write it on the calendar, and he knows that Friday he's making Schnitzel!

♥ Budgeting ♥

I keep an extremely detailed budget because I'm an extremely detailed person. If that's not your flavor, do something more basic! But I have found that if I know what I am spending my money on, I don't feel guilty about splurging in some areas, or I know that it's time to reign it in. For instance, when eating out money starts to near our monthly allowance, I know it's time to stop suggesting McDonald's for dinner.

♥ Cleaning/Chores ♥

I try to put one or two chores/cleaning tasks on my to-do list each day (unless I'm super busy that evening). I don't like getting up Saturday and feeling like I have to spend the whole day cleaning. I'd rather do one thing each night, and enjoy my Saturday.

♥ Prayer ♥

God is the ultimate keeper of our time. Our productivity during the day is a reflection of the things we care about. Pray for effective use of your time so that you can spend more time on the things you love: quiet time with God, your family, your friends, etc.

Happy Multi-Tasking!

Missing Out?

I had eight hours this past weekend in the car to think. I set my cruise control and let my mind wander for the duration of the trip (if you've ever driven to Indy via 70 you know it doesn't take much thought to get there).

While I was jamming to my iPOD playlist (called "That's My Jam!"), I started to think about something:

I've often been asked this question, "You devote all this time and energy to learning about God and reading your Bible and 'being a good Christian.' Well, what if you're wrong about everything? What if you die and find out there's no God? What if we all really just die, and we're gone; or we turn into dung beetles?"

What if I'm wrong?

That's a great question to pose.

Here's my answer ...

So what.

So what if I'm wrong? What did I miss out on by living my life with faith that God is real? Do people think my life is without fun and happiness because I try to live by God's standards? Because - to be honest - I can't remember the last time a day passed without Brent and me dancing around our house, singing silly songs, playing games, having good discussions, and on and on. Do we have days where we argue? Sure. Of course. But more often than not, it's resolved quickly, and we still find time to talk to each other in our many accents and make each other laugh.

So, I die. *sniff*

I find out God's not real. *sniff sniff*

Do I regret how I lived my life?

Not one bit.

I think the question I would pose to those who think I'm crazy to believe in God is, "What if I'm right?"

Delving into Proverbs 31

I started our new study today on Proverbs 31 ("Discovering the Treasures of a Godly Woman: Proverbs 31" by Elizabeth George). I am really excited about it because it is a lot of studying the Bible on a daily basis, which is exactly what I wanted! I would consider it similar to a precept - but maybe not AS in depth? We'll see though - it's only been one day.

My prayer for this study is that I get used to a daily time of devotion with God ... and that I work on a couple of the key traits of being a woman of excellence - as defined by God Himself in Proverbs 31.

I desire to be excellent in God's eyes!

Wednesday Wants ...

- Butterfingers.

- A Happy Meal.

- A new issue of Better Homes & Gardens (with a focus more on HOMES than GARDENS).

- A fireplace that works ... but doesn't cost $500 to make work.

- Vegan chocolate chip muffins.

- An indoor pool to swim in.

- An ice-cold Coke.

- A device that puts my shoes and socks on for me.

Rocky Road & Ecclesiastes

"I know that there is nothing better for people than to be happy and to do good while they live. That each of them may eat and drink, and find satisfaction in all their toil—this is the gift of God." Ecclesiastes 3:12-13

While visiting my sister this past weekend, I had the opportunity to visit her church. I had a great time being a part of her Sunday school class, and I learned something from the last lesson of her study.

It was on Ecclesiastes - which I think would be an amazing study.

The speaker had about 12 "sum it up" points to make, but one struck a chord. He said that God wants us to: "Enjoy Life."

Who would have thought part of loving and obeying God would be enjoying life? That seems way too easy! But he went on to challenge us to look at the things that we enjoy and make sure they are worthy of us enjoying them. That was powerful for me. I started thinking about the things that I enjoy, and I was convicted by some. I love conviction because it usually brings change that matures me and betters me.

So - my challenge is to look at the things you enjoy and make sure even those things honor God.

BUT - my challenge is also to enjoy life! Take time to do things that you enjoy - that bring you happiness. Whether that is Rocky Road ice cream in bed or long runs in the park with your dog - do what you love sometimes! That was the challenge I left my sister with when I left, and that is the challenge I leave you with too. Enjoying life is a "gift of God."

Bible Dissection: John 3:16

For God - BECAUSE God ... FOR THIS REASON God ... basically He is going to let you know WHY He did this in the next phrase.

so loved - God's motive for sending Jesus was not just because He loved us, but SO loved us! He couldn't bear to be without us. He couldn't allow us to spend eternity apart from Him.

the world - Not just Christians. Not just people who go to church. God loves the world. He wants everyone to come to Him. He wants to have a relationship with each person on this earth.

that he gave - GAVE is the key word here. Gave implies a gift. Salvation is a gift. We did not/do not earn it. We can't pay for it. We can't be worthy of it. It's just a gift the He gave.

His - I think this is important because He gave something of HIS OWN. He didn't just create something new to give to us. Jesus was His. Jesus meant something to Him. Jesus was precious to Him.

one and only Son - It wasn't like He had 100 kids to pick from. He had ONE Son that He loved ... SO loved.

that - This implies a condition is coming up ...

whoever believes - Both words are imperative. First, WHOEVER wants to can believe in God. But it has to take believing. It isn't about service or sacrifice or emotion. It takes BELIEF.

in him - Not only belief, but belief IN HIM. It isn't enough to just believe there is "something out there" that saves us. Belief in Him involves a relationship with Him.

shall not perish but have eternal life - There are two roads available to us after death. We don't have a bunch of options. Without God our option is to perish ... with God, our option is to have eternal life WITH Him! I don't know about you ... but in any scenario, eternal life sounds better to me than perishing.

Thoughts from Luke

Luke 7:36-50

Can unholy people approach a holy God?? (V.36-39)

-A pharisee would say NO ... would we disagree? Do we also condemn people who show obvious brokenness and darkness?
-Can you think of someone who if you saw enter the church you would say, "What are they doing here?"
-It's easy to become judgemental: sinners can usually see their sin easily but those who are "righteous" usually cannot as easily.

I had a great experience with this very fact on Sunday. Brent and I were taking some time to talk about our relationship and our spiritual growth, and we were "calling each other out" on different things we have noticed about each other. I quickly realized that sometimes we don't see ourselves as others see us. I know the saying is: "I am my worst enemy," but with sin sometimes that is not true. Sometimes we look past our own flaws ... but the people closest to us see them VERY clearly. I think that is why accountability is SO important! People we love should be able to gently, and in a loving way, point out things in our lives that dishonor God or make us look bad to others.

We also talked about this in Bible study. Sometimes there are people in our lives making decisions that we know will hurt them later or dishonor God (I'm talking about people we are very close with, not just casual friends or acquaintances) ... but we choose not to say anything because we don't want to damage the relationship. But even though someone might get upset by what we say now, I think later they will see that we were only saying it because we loved them and we cared what happened to them.

I know personally, there are things I wish people would have said to me in my youth ... just shook me hard and said, "MISSY! You are being an idiot!" (but in a loving way of course). I would have been upset ... but looking back I would have known they cared enough about me to risk it.

So, pray about it first. And if you feel God's lead, then show someone you care by being the person who says what they need to hear. If I keep waiting for someone else to tell that person, no one ever will.