I don’t have time.
I don’t have time to exercise. I don’t have time to prepare healthy meals. I don’t have time to get adequate rest.
I get it. Believe me, I really do. If anyone is short on time, it’s me. I have a tribe of five over here ages 11-2, a husband that works a gazillion hours a week, I work in ministry and my spiritual gift is exhortation so I just HAVE to make time to share a word of encouragement. Most of our family activity: school, work, church, recreation is 30 minutes one-way from our home. I get it. If anyone doesn’t have time it’s me.
But let me pull out one of my old hats for a minute. I used to be a certified facilitator for Franklin Covey’s What Matters Most. In this workshop participants acquire skills for effective time management, improved relationships and peace of mind. And what I learned from applying these principles is this: we are all given the SAME amount of time; we CHOOSE how we’ll use it.
Well the Word says something about utilizing our time:
Therefore He says:
“Awake, you who sleep,
Arise from the dead,
And Christ will give you light.”
See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise,
redeeming the time, because the days are evil.
Therefore do not be unwise, but understand what the will of the Lord is. Ephesians 5:14-17 NKJV
Don’t waste your time on useless work, mere busywork, the barren pursuits of darkness. Expose these things for the sham they are. It’s a scandal when people waste their lives on things they must do in the darkness where no one will see. Rip the cover off those frauds and see how attractive they look in the light of Christ.
Wake up from your sleep,
Climb out of your coffins;
Christ will show you the light!
So watch your step. Use your head. Make the most of every chance you get. These are desperate times!
Don’t live carelessly, unthinkingly. Make sure you understand what the Master wants. Ephesians 5:11-17 The Message
So I venture to say we don’t have a time issue but a time management issue. I will go on to say as the scripture says, walk as WISE and redeem the time because the days are evil. The time robbers are all around us: electronics, busyness, lack of focus, and the like. You know them because they’ve crept up on you a time or two. They tried to rob me too, but I resolve to redeem the time.
Time for devotions
Time for building relationships
Time for love and laughter
Time for exercise
Time for rest
Time for preparing healthy meals
I dare you, the next time you are watching TV, are on social media, watching a movie or talking on the phone, set a timer. If you do, you’ll find that you DO in fact have some time. Yes preparing healthy meals will take more time than microwaving a hot pocket or toaster strudel, but the investment in yourself is worth the time. Do I have hours to spend working out? No. But at a minimum I try to get in at least 30 minutes a day (except Sundays).
And if we don’t take the time now to foster those things that matter most, they’ll be at the mercy of that which matters least. If we don’t take the time now, relationships will wither. If we don’t take the time now to eat right and exercise we can put ourselves in a position of spending more time in the Dr.’s office and pharmacy line.
Time invested on the front end will yield huge dividends in the long run. Your relationships will be the better for it as well as your health. Your overall mind, body and spirit will be properly nourished with your investment of time.
My plea friends is to encourage not to discourage, to inspire not condemn.
In what areas do you need to redeem the time?
Next Wednesday I’ll be sharing some ways you can redeem the time in your kitchen so stay tuned. If you aren’t currently receiving these posts in your email inbox, please subscribe to the blog so you don’t miss a thing.
Here’s an extra little nugget on redeeming the time.
As always, it is my prayer that you’ve been Inspired To Live Fully!
Happy today to be connecting with friends @
Right now, for me, it’s not a matter of finding the time, but of finding the energy!
Brittany you raise a great point. Sounds like I should revisit that in another post. I am usually high energy early in the day. Then at 7 I totally hit the wall. Then I’m only really able to get anything after my 5 children go to bed. By then I just want to hit the pillow. But there are a few things we can do to eli improve energy: eat more raw fruits and vegetables, less refined sugar, don’t eat late at night and get a good night’s rest. Praying your energy sweet friend as you walk out all He’s called you to do.
[…] we talked about how we spend our time and the need to redeem our time. If you missed that post, click here. Now I don’t want to just tell you what you ought to do without giving you some practical […]
What a wonderful and encouraging post.
Lately, I had let my blog overflow into my Sundays. This past weekend I rededicated my time to God and stayed away from my blog and social media. I feel rested, rejuvenated and more productive today.
Thank you for this reminder (and for linking up to the #SHINEbloghop).
Wishing you a lovely day.
xoxo
Jennifer,
I love your blog BTW. So happy for you that you redeemed your time of the Sabbath rest. That one act of obedience will open additional windows of opportunity. Praying your strength as you pour out to others.
I love time management help and advise thanks for sharing 🙂
Sharon,
I’m sure you have seen the direct connection between organization and time management. I pray that we are disciplined and honor God with His precious commodity called time.
Amen! I could totally use some time management help. Thank you for sharing.
Nicole,
I pray your strength and resolve to maximize the windows of opportunity the Lord shows you.
How we manage our time makes all the difference in the world. It is a constant challenge to make wise choices with time, and I don’t always get there, but I’m headed in God’s direction. Loved your video, what a personal touch!
Ginger,
Thanks for stopping by. Glad to hear you are using your time to move in the direction of God because there are so many distractions that try to pull us in the opposite direction. Shouting hallelujah for holy blinders to keep our eyes staid on Him.
Thank you for stopping by my blog and introducing yourself. I love this article and am so happy the Lord has crossed our paths. I look forward to exploring your site more and gleaning from your love for the Lord and living fully for Him! Blessings to you, Kelly
Kelly,
Thanks for coming over. I’ve been following your blog for 2 years now and it has been a blessing to me. I’ve learned from your meal plans how to use redistribute/stretch items throughout the week. I am the Director of the Homemakers Ministry at my church and have referred them to the site many times. May God continue to give you the passion, stamina and courage to walk out your ministry of blogging and teaching women how to nourish their families.
Quality Time happens to be one of my love languages, and so this verse on redeeming time is one of my favorites. I love that you write about how to make the most of the time that we are given, and it is something we are given. I find I can easily get discouraged if I feel that my time is wasted, way too easily. We don’t have a TV, and I have really never been easily distracted by that, but I can get lost in blogs, FB or pinterest when I am feeling perplexed by not knowing how to better utilize time.
Thank you for the fantastic verse reminder and for the exhortation to choose wisely.
Blessings,
Dawn
Dawn,
I thank you for having an open heart and mind to receive the word. God has called me to exhort and while in that role I encourage, I also have to hold people accountable and that’s not always easy. I wish I could craft feel good messages but the Lord has given me a burden to calls hearts to obey Him. I thank you for stopping by with words of grace.
I Love the truths you shared in your post today. You have encouraged my heart to look at my time management. Blessings to you! Tammy
Tammy,
Thanks for stopping by. I pray you maximize your windows of opportunity to redeem the time. I look forward to connecting with you again.
Oh Sis, when you said, “If we don’t take the time now to foster those things that matter most, we’ll be at the mercy of that which matters least” that spoke in volumes to me. I am striving to constantly improve my time management skills.
Have you ever seen a little video clip called Big Rocks? If not, look it up on YouTube. It is a great illustration of that very point. It puts the punctuation on that statement.