Side-Tracked

 

The things that distract and sidetrack me…. I let them have too much power. Surprisingly, they can be petty, small things that prove to be amazingly strong.

Moments ago, I stopped on my way through the family room to stand in front of the patio door, indulging in the warmth of the sunshine. I even contemplated moving my desk to that spot because I loved it! I leaned my back onto the glass and melted. Maybe I should just put a sweater on, but it distracted me.

See there! Another distraction! The very sentence I typed out caused me to run upstairs to grab a sweater. But now I AM much warmer. While upstairs innocently grabbing that sweater, it crossed my mind that the dryer will stop any minute now. Will I submit to the buzzer when it calls me up there? Probably. I hate wrinkles in my clothes.

I can tie pretty much anything to some verse in the Bible and this topic is no exception. As I wrote in my journal this morning, I saw a piece to my puzzle emerge.

See there! Mother Nature called and I ran upstairs again. Well, that was a necessary distraction that I couldn’t ignore, but while I was up there I could totally have ignored the call of my Satin Hands in a pocket on the back of the bathroom door. Before I knew it I was exfoliating my hands. While yes – they’re incredibly soft now, it could have waited till after I’m finished writing. But by then, I’d have forgotten all about it and my hands would have been ignored. It’s a losing battle, I tell ya!

I recently joined a group on Facebook, hosted by a friend of mine [shout out to Debbie Mussack!] called Focanize Support Group. In this group we’ll hopefully unearth some solutions for those of us who are focus and organizationally challenged.

The puzzle piece that emerged while journaling this morning has an odd shape, one that might be hard to analyze, but compelling to look at.

Tying this puzzle piece into scripture is easy, introducing it to my life might be a little harder.

The phrase “fullness of time” popped into my head concerning whatever I was writing about, and it bounced around until it landed in this topic of being unorganized and my lack of focus and discipline.

In the Bible we read it in places that say things like, “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law, to redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons.” – Galatians 4:4-5 KJV Meaning, when the time was right.

Intrigue swirled in my brain asking, “Hmmm. Is there a fulness of time when I will successfully address all my shortcomings and whatever is behind them will be resolved?” And THAT’S when it dawned on me in a realistic way that there are ISSUES behind my shortcomings! (Duh!)

Well, that bit of the puzzle piece fit into place nicely, but now it’s time to explore what those issues might be and deal with them. Yikes! This will be the challenging part. Is the time right? Is it now?

What tares need to be pulled up without disturbing the wheat? (Another biblical reference, see Matthew 13:24-30.)

What things in my mind need to be addressed without breaking my heart?

What are the procrastination traps that keep showing up in my path? What are the roots of the focus / organizational challenges in my life?

As I explore this with God holding my hand AND my heart, I’ll write updated blog posts to share my discoveries with you.

How do YOU handle the little dysfunctions in your life?

How do YOU get and stay organized? How do you get and stay disciplined and focused?

“To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heavens…” – Ecclesiastes 3:1 KJV

 

Maybe It's Just Me...

(petfinder.com)

Okay, so I used the puppy to get your attention......but, since you're here...

This morning in church while singing a song that’s new to me, I heard the words to the chorus rolling off my tongue…

“I’m chasing after you, no matter what I have to do….” Great words, if they’re words that Jesus sings to me. But – I’m singing them to Him.

So maybe it sounds a little more like this when I’m singing the words: I’m chasing after You, Jesus, no matter what I have to do……unless that means waking up earlier or spending more time in prayer or in Your Word; or unless it means less time in front of the computer/phone/video games/television. Oh, and unless it means spending more time or resources on or with those who don’t yet know you – or those who can’t provide for themselves, or those who are sick or lonely…..

(joyousoasis.com)

Can I get a sad, pathetic “amen”?

We fall into our own little ruts, living in our own little worlds where everything revolves around “me”. Don’t we? Or am I the only one that gets tunnel vision?

I can’t recommend highly enough the book "Fervent" by Priscilla Shirer - I’ve recommended it before, because she’s down to earth, practical, hands-on about how to pray and why it’s so important to pray fervently; having a plan of prayer-action. It’s a book I plan to read several times. It’ll be worn and frayed around the edges of the pages. I’ve already marked up so much of it. The book’s tag line reads: A Woman’s Battle Plan for Serious, Specific, and Strategic Prayer.

Seriously, it’s that good.

How invested in the kingdom of God are we, really?

Is it just me, or do a lot of us compartmentalize our lives?

Do we allocate a compartment for Jesus and the things that burn with passion in His heart? Do we give Him five minutes of prayer time in the morning as we bob and weave in and out of traffic on our way to work, more focused on the cars around us than we are on the things we have to say to Him? Where’s the opportunity to listen to what He has to say to us?

(bringbread.wordpress.com)

I’m reminded of the disciple’s example in Mark 14:32-42, when Jesus asked them to pray with Him….and they fell asleep; three times.

Jesus asked, “Simon, are you sleeping? Could you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest you enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak.” (Mark 14:37-38 NKJV)

Self comes first, even for those who walked with Him. I'm preaching to myself, here....

Maybe we tithe. Maybe. Apparently only about 2-3% of Christians tithe! That statistic blows me away. I’ve heard, “We can’t afford to tithe….” I’m telling you, you can’t afford NOT to tithe. It’s one of God’s kingdom principles.

(thoughtsfromparis.com)

Maybe we let it suffice to spend a few minutes in God’s Word – each Sunday morning as our pastor directs us to turn to a certain passage, from which he plans to teach. What about getting into His Word on our own time, gleaning what He has to say to us personally?

Maybe this year’s resolution or life changes should have less to do with weight-loss and more to do with spiritual gain. But, let's do it out of love, not fear, not guilt, not outside pressure.

Or maybe, you’ve already got it all together and I’m one of the lone fish swimming along in the seas of nonchalance, not noticing life passing me by, missing a good portion of what God wants to show me each day.

Either way, pray with me – or pray for me!

“The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous [wo]man avails much!”

– James 5:16 (NKJV)

Wait Just A Minute Now

(edudemic.com)

I used to wait – for the kids to be born, to walk, to be potty trained, to be in school; till the work day was done, till the kids were old enough to leave at home on their own, till the kids graduated, till we “settled down” instead of moving from base to base….

Now, we’ve retired from the military life. The kids are all grown with kids of their own; some of the grandchildren are almost ready to graduate from high school.

Now, hmmmm….. what was it I was waiting to do?

(edudemic.com)

Or, I’d buy a pretty dress and save it in the closet for a special occasion; when an occasion finally came along I deemed worthy enough for the special dress, alas, I’d either gained or lost weight and it no longer fit me.

Even short term waiting sets us up for failure. I’ll wait for just an hour to go for my walk, until the sun is hotter or the clouds roll out. Alas, that hour turns into several hours and other things crowd into my day; no time for a walk today. I wasted all that sunshine piddling around indoors.

Even waiting to make that mad dash for the ladies room can be detrimental, if you know what I mean.

Yes, sometimes we need to wait. If we pull the cinnamon rolls from the oven after just a minute or two, the dough will be raw and uneatable. If we pull the clothes from the dryer too soon they’ll be too wet to wear. If we drive away while the gas is still pumping into our tank, God only knows what disasters that could create.

But, sometimes waiting is just an excuse; putting off the inevitable until it’s too late. We’re either rushed to fit in our plans, or our plans are completely ruined. We shake it off and wind up playing the same game the next day.

Procrastination.

(lifestyleot.com)

What are we waiting for? The proverbial “engraved invitation”? Are we waiting for someone else to do it for us? Are we waiting for someone else to run with that great idea we had, or thinking that no one else would come up with it?

Are we waiting for “the right time” or “waiting on God’s timing”? Sometimes that’s legit. Sometimes God is waiting on us! Sometimes, yeah – it’s just another rut in our path that procrastination makes deeper. If we let putting things off create enough deep ruts, our road to success will become harder to travel; and that can lead to giving up completely.

Although we can have lots of fun in this life, it’s not much of a game when we’re sitting on the losing end of all the potential we’ve been given. Yes, there’s a time for everything. And our time is NOW!

Rise and shine, Buttercup! Today is not a day for sitting around waiting. 

(xochi.info)

“…I tell you, now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation.” – 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV)

“This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.” – Romans 13:11 (NLT)

“For everything there is a season,
    a time for every activity under heaven.
A time to be born and a time to die.
    A time to plant and a time to harvest.
A time to kill and a time to heal.
    A time to tear down and a time to build up.
A time to cry and a time to laugh.
    A time to grieve and a time to dance.
A time to scatter stones and a time to gather stones.
    A time to embrace and a time to turn away.
A time to search and a time to quit searching.
    A time to keep and a time to throw away.
A time to tear and a time to mend.
    A time to be quiet and a time to speak.
A time to love and a time to hate.
    A time for war and a time for peace.”

~Ecclesiastes 3:1-8 (NLT)

                                    

(eventbrite.com)

I Miss My Time With You

(My own photo.)

Time escapes far too quickly. Where did yesterday go? For that matter, how has today slipped through my fingers already? If feels like it’s been forever since I shared a blog post.

It doesn’t take much to throw us off schedule or out of sync with what we planned on doing with our day.

I heard God whispering this song to me all evening. It’s so easy for a song to speak to me when I used to sing the song myself.

"I Miss My Time With You" - Larnelle Harris

Focusing on one thing so closely can cause everything else to seem to fade away like the snow that delicately covered my yard this morning. There’s no trace of it now. But too often I find myself focusing on the wrong things. You’ve probably heard the phrase, “Don’t tell God how big your mountain is (focusing on the obstacles before us), speak to your mountain(s) and declare how big your God is!”

When my husband and I go to dinner in a nicer eating establishment, I expect my meal to arrive before me just as I ordered it. If I focus on how salty the green beans are, I deprive myself of the delight the tilapia is providing as it blankets my tongue before I quickly chew and swallow.

So too, when I focus on what a bad hair day I’m surviving, I may miss the array of blessings God spilled out before me all day long.

We can’t focus on the good (Philippians 4:8) without spending time with the Great!

Sure, your mountains will continue to demand your time and attention. It’s up to you to choose to spend time with God, before turning your eyes to the problems. We’re sure to see those problems in a different light after basking in the Light of the World.

Where Does The Time Go?

Time. What more precious gift can we give than that of quality time; love manifested?

Alone time is needed to cultivate inner strength and reliance on God. But when we’re not spending time alone with God, we’re giving our time to or for something or someone. Perhaps it would be a good idea to pick up a pen and diagram where and to whom our time goes. Who or what are we giving our time to? We may see that more of our time goes to petty things that will pass, rather than to those we truly love.

It’s a great idea to be sure to thank those who invest their time in us.

When my husband and I started dating we found ‘our song’. It’s Time in a Bottle by Jim Croce. Next to God, spending time with Dave is my most favorite thing to do.   Time in a Bottle - Jim Croce

1 Peter 1:17 Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. (NIV)

Time For A Clock

Time to remember

Time to forget

Anticipation

Or lonely regret

Time that is wasted

Time on your hands

Time so elusive

Like hourglass sands

Time that stands still - as

Time marches on

Times of reflection

To ponder upon

Time heals all wounds -

A lie to our hearts

Time has no end

Nor a tangible start

Time has expired

Or we’ve too long to wait

Time can hold secrets

Delivered by fate

Time that you borrow -or

Time that you kill

Time is the order

God only, can fill.

~Helen Williams! 7/5/03