For your EARS while you READ.
Ecclesiastes 3:1-8
time.
Time.
Time flies.
Time waits for no man.
Time is not my friend.
Time for lunch.
Time for dinner.
Time to take out the trash.
I don't have time.
Do you have the time?
Snack time.
Nap time.
Time to take a bath time.
time.
Assessing one's use of time is imperative if a person chooses not to waste time. I have several awards for wasting time and procrastinating. It's not a place I like to show to others - not much to brag about there, but none-the-less, the place exists.
TIME.
Since my sister was diagnosed with cancer 3-1/2 years ago I started to look at time much differently. She shared with me what she did with her time, even when she was extremely ill. She gave her time freely, as God will call her to. She mentored children, shared her life and her love with others.
She always had time.
Until it ran out.
Don't Waste Time.
My son's birthday is on the horizon - another moment to look at the clock of time and say ALREADY? I remember the when he was in my belly, the day he was born, his cries, the way he snuggled up to me, the way he hid behind my leg when he didn't know someone, how he hugged me and told me it would be okay. That little boy? He's 14! Where has the time gone?
As time ticks away I have to focus on TIME WELL SPENT. What is that these days? If I spend my time wisely then I will have little regrets in my future. I do not wish to look back on my life with regrets.
Quiet Time with God is one that I am continually trying to make. It is something that I battle...
DAILY.
WEEKLY.
MONTHLY.
YEARLY.
How can I know what God wants me to do if I'm not willing to spend some quiet time talking to him? And sitting with him in the silence to hear him talk to me?
My Spare Time I am using to maintain my house. This is something that I always neglected and left for the weekend. What I realized is that this is something that I need to make sure is kept up so that my husband enjoys coming home after a long day at the office, that the kids can invite their friends over and not be embarrassed and for me to be able to OPEN MY DOORS to Godly appointments. Now the image below is for ME. I have burned up a lot of time not well spent on facebook. Sometimes I was at work. Sometimes it was when I could have been hanging out with my family. I have had a cafe, a farm and other things that really did not enrich my life - only wasted my time.
Time of Need is something that has been in my face for a while. My husband and I are currently in a transition. My husband had to leave his job and currently does not have one. We listened and obeyed an odd request from God, so we have plenty of food to feed our family. What about the others? You see, we easily get consumed by what WE NEED and forget about others and their needs. Not all of God's appointments are at my house - and so time well spent is going OUT THERE and helping others. (Proverbs 21:13) Sometimes NEED isn't food. Remember, we all need relationships. There are people that NEED A FRIEND. Yes, they are usually the hardest to get along with - but give them an ear and a shoulder.
Time to wait for answers to prayers. It is this time that I feel is the slowest. More often than not the prayers have been answered while we are still waiting - they were just answered in a different way than we EXPECTED.
Time has CHANGED ME because I let God change me. He still is! This may seem a little odd to throw in, but it is completely the truth. I would love for you to check out this website, if you have time. I could easily be two of the people on here. Coincidentally I do "know" these people, but have not taken the time to KNOW them. I had already prejudged them as picture-perfect christians - never had a problem in their life, they would die if they knew who I WAS. www.changelookslikethis.com
God changes all of us in time.
If we let him.
What do you think about TIME?
12 comments:
I think time passes whether we are using it wisely or not. I also think the time I just spent reading your words enriched me, time well spent.
God is always working through us and all we have to do is listen, you got that.
Lovely post from a lovely soul.
♥
As always, I enjoy your posts--because they make me think, reflect, etc. Time is something that we only have for a moment--and we have to choose to make the best of those moments. Cheers, Jenn.
Yes, don't waste time, I agree with that. Thank you for sharing so many intimate thoughts!
Time is definitely precious and should be spent wisely but keeping busy and never having time to relax, breathe and cherish it for a moment isn't the answer either. We need to balance it out so that we have enough of both. A lot of people think facebook is a waste of time but I find it to be the best way I can keep up with a lot of friends in a little bit of time. If I were to talk to each one on the phone, send them all post cards or go visit them all, well then I'd be broke and jobless. Sure all of those things are still nice to do but we can't do them on a daily basis.
^^^ Ditto what Trish said. ^^^
i completely agree with you! if you are too busy than you are not doing the important things. i also use facebook to keep in touch with those that i love. my family lives far away from me and many of my friends - but there are times that i just stare at my facebook like something is going to happen. :) maybe it's just me. :/
This will sound bad, but right now I am wishing to fast forward time a few months. Larry received a promotion last year and one of the conditions is we would have to relocate the first part of 2012. So here it is, 2012 and I'm stressed and it's starting to affect my health. Larry travels so much now and sometimes it feels like I am a single parent. I am so proud of him getting to where he is and I know it won't be long before he will get to take the next step. But as a part-time single parent, it gets tiresome. I'm trying to train my replacement, trying to sell a house, trying to raise our 9 year old son while keeping the house neat and clean, plus numerous other items. Right now time isn't my friend. I don't have enough of it. And there have been a couple of meltdowns. I know things will be better once we get moved and settled. At that time, I will get to be the stay-at-home mommy I have always wanted to be. I am already planning what I can do with my free time - ways to better myself, ways to help my new community. And I'm excited. But right now, with the lack of needing more time, I'm at my breaking point and not sure how much more I can handle before I completely come unglued.
As for Facebook, it is a guilty pleasure. I do spend too much time on it. I think that is what is keeping me sane at the moment. But I have reconnected with so many people I grew up with when I lived in Maryland, and for that I am thankful. Most of these people I haven't talked to since 1984. That's when we moved from MD to WV. It made me feel good to know they've wondered about me too during all these years. So Facebook can be used for good and not evil.
i too have wanted to FREEZE time and sometimes hurry it up. currently my husband is not working on the stress of WHAT IS NEXT is unbearable. Hurry up Lord and let's get this show on the road! but it's the apostrophe's of life that i believe build our character and allow us to enjoy the reprieve. :)
This was such a lovely, personal look at your view of time. Thank you for sharing it with us :o)
Sometimes I think that "time wasted" is the time best spent of all. I'm not a Farmville/Frontierville/Mafia Wars player - I don't even do Words with Friends. But, I think people play games on FaceBook or whatever because they are stressed, or avoiding some situation they really can't deal with. Maybe spending those 15 minutes here and there let you take a mental breather and return to your kids/sister/other duties a little more refreshed and relaxed. You did what you needed to do, then, and now you see a need to make a shift, and that's good, too. We have time enough to do what we need to do on this earth - whether we perceive that as true or not. :-)
so thankful you have time to BLOG! this was a treat!
my use of farmville was definitely during a high-stress time. it's when i look back at it that i grimace. truly - it served it's purpose. they have shown that a quick video game will allow us to de-stress. in that way i play a quick game of tetris.
since my sister left this planet i have really been trying to make every minute count. i was always a go person, but in many ways i go more and stay put more...all at the same time. :)
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