Stupid Calendar !

Let’s talk about money, or sex, or attitudes, kids, family, unsurrendered anger, pride . . .  anything . . . absolutely anything but my calendar! Before I do anything, me and my calendar have a chat. I feel lost – seriously lost – when we are apart. I am not a spontaneous girl. I am a plan it out well and have a backup plan just in case kind of girl. Go big or go home. Sleep when you’re dead. Work hard – Play hard. Isn’t that how everybody lives? Our schedule is full of things we love – or at least it’s full of things we are supposed to love. Work, school, kids, church, camps, marching band, track, cross country, soccer, basketball, PRC, meetings, family get-togethers, small group, fellowship, date nights, programs, PTA, bible studies, concerts, play dates, book fairs, vacations, trips, workdays. We even schedule days off – seriously – every once in a while we will ‘schedule’ a ‘don’t plan or commit to do anything on this day because we need a break’ day. Doesn’t everybody?  

 “What is the biggest obstacle facing the family right now? It is over-commitment; time pressure. There is nothing that will destroy family life more insidiously than hectic schedules and busy lives, where spouses are too exhausted to communicate, too worn out to have sex, too fatigued to talk to the kids. That frantic lifestyle is just as destructive as one involving outbroken sin. If Satan can't make you sin, he'll make you busy, and that's just about the same thing.” ~ James Dobson

"If Satan can’t make you bad, he makes you busy. If we learn to say ‘No’ to good things, we are able to say ‘Yes’ to better things God sends our way."  ~ Nationally-renowned speaker Phyllis Wallace
”Hurry is not of the Devil; hurry is the Devil.” ~ Carl Jung

 Now listen, you who say, “Today or tomorrow we will go to this or that city, spend a year there, carry on business and make money.” Why, you do not even know what will happen tomorrow. What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes. Instead, you ought to say, “If it is the Lord’s will, we will live and do this or that.” As it is, you boast in your arrogant schemes. All such boasting is evil. If anyone, then, knows the good they ought to do and doesn’t do it, it is sin for them. James 4:13-17(NIV)

Today God, as I read this passage the question I hear from you is this, “Are you honoring Me and humbling yourself with the way you spend your time? Are you focused on the earthly or the eternal?”

As I ponder this question from you God – there are a few hard questions I must also ask myself:

·         Do I leave openings in my daily plan for the things that you God want to have be a part of my day?

·         In my rush to keep my chore list in check do I miss seeing the people you place on my path that need a little taste of your love, mercy and grace?

·         In my race to be ‘supermom’ or "wonder wife" every evening do I miss hearing the heartache of my child that has suffered thru a rough day, or the stress my spouse is carrying on his shoulders?

·         Does the noise of my radio, my keyboard, my tv or my vacuum drown out the name you are whispering in my ear of a friend that needs compassion and encouragement?  

·         Do I know how to do life with my husband and kids without having to be doing ‘things’ with them?

·         Do I use a busy schedule as a way to minimize my ability to invest in people the way you want me to Lord?  

·         Do I keep myself busy because I think that business (and not you God) means I matter? 

·         Do I choose to be stressed because of an underlying fear of stillness or emptiness?

·         Am I content with who I am and where I am with you God when I am still?

And what about that last verse! I know it well – but don’t think I have ever thought of how it relates to how You feel about how I spend my time. I never thought my calendar would be a physical manifestation of my sin. But if it doesn’t honor You, if it’s just one more way that my will tries to flex itself over Your will – well that’s not good.

Hard Prayer – God help me to be faithful to you with my time. Every day you give me 24 hours. Help me to think to listen to you before I check my calendar. I want to hear your voice. I want my day to match your plan. Help me to see clearly what matters most to You. It’s gonna be uncomfortable for me, but I know Your first concern is not at all about me being comfortable. Please give me peace as I learn to walk in uncomfortable obedience.