Got time for that?

"See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools but wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil..." Ephesians 5:15-16

Good morning, dear friends!

I have been reading articles about time management, which, when you consider it, is counter-productive.  After all, if you should be making the most of your time, shouldn't you be doing something other than reading articles about keeping track of time?

Hmmm....I'll have to think about that one...for a minute, no longer...

I am not a time-management guru.  I am a recovering control freak, and that is very different.  But still, things have to be done, and I have a limited amount of time given to me in each day, and so I need to make the most of my minutes, right?

For several years now, I have practiced the "ten-minute" method.  There are many times when I wake up in the morning, look at the overflowing laundry basket, the dirty dishes piled up in the sink, the dirty tile floors and just general "untidiness," and just shut down.  I can't, I tell myself.  I can't do all these things again.

Do you know how many daily tasks you can accomplish in ten minutes or less?

I have found that I can empty the dishwasher, and fill it back up, and even rinse out the sink, in just ten minutes.  I can fold a load of laundry and put it away in ten minutes.  I can vacuum my downstairs, or mop my downstairs tiles, in ten minutes.  I can make my bed and straighten up my bedroom in ten minutes.  The list is endless.

Whenever I have one of those days when I just can't, I make myself think in terms of ten minutes.  Start one task, and move to the next, reminding myself that ten minutes isn't that long, after all.

If this is true for my housework, could this "ten-minute" principle be applied to other areas of my life as well?

In ten minutes, I can read a chapter in the Bible.  I can memorize a Bible verse, or short passage, in just ten minutes, even with my middle-aged brain.  I can pray for a missionary, or several missionaries, or skim my Facebook feed and pray for the different requests that are mentioned. I can write an encouraging note, or email.  I can walk to a neighbor's house, any neighbor, in less than ten minutes time.

Finding the time to do what I need to do, is usually not difficult.  Taking the time, and investing the time instead of watching it go by, is something else entirely.

The Bible verse mentioned at the top of this blog, when read in context, in a reminder to me to be different from the world that I have been called out of.  All of the worldly things mentioned in the verses preceding this passage are vain, empty and downright wicked (and not the New England wicked, either.)  I should be walking, as I am reminded in several places in this passage, as a child of light, fleeing the darkness, not partaking in the evil deeds all around me.

The word "redeeming" is this passage means buying up, ransoming, or rescuing from loss.  If I am not careful with my day, it will be frittered away in whatever activity strikes my fancy at the moment--sometimes very good things--but not the BEST things.  If I want to make the most of my day--real time management--I need to have eternal perspectives on my daily activities.

Will I keep the house clean, because I am a dutiful housewife, or because I don't want neighbors to think we're slobs, or will I clean the house because I love the Lord, and my family?

Will I read the Bible, or pray, or visit someone, because I know that's what a Christian is supposed to do, or will I do it because I love the Lord, and want close fellowship with Him and those He died for?

Will I fill my day with activities, or will I invest my time for things that have eternal value, as a child of light should?

Ten minutes may not seem like a long time here on earth, but I am sure that there are many "ten minute" actions or decisions, that will last forever.  May the Lord help me today to redeem the time, and multiply it into eternity.

The clock is ticking...