Making time...

'There's never enough time' ... Truth be told, you make time for things most important to you. If we're not careful we allow our days (and nights) to be filled with negative steps. My challenge to you... take a chance on God and choose to purposefully change the way you manage your time.

Take a moment and write down 2 things that you want to complete in the next 6 months, another 2 for the next year, another 2 for the next 2 years, another 2 for the next 5 years, and another 2 within the next 10 years. (Habakkuk 2:2 - Write the vision, and make it plain...)

'Making Time'...

• Put God first - Preparing your spiritual self
• Let his Word be the 1st thing that enters your mind when you wake up (it can be from a devotional, proverb, etc)
• Let your first thoughts of the day be those of thanksgiving and worship
• Preparing your physical self
• Take time to get yourself ready for the day
• Not that outward beauty is so greatly important, but take time to take care of yourself
• Examples: get a workout in, do your hair, put on a decent outfit :)
• Prepare your family
• Proverbs 31:15 She gets up while it is still night; she provides food for her family
  and portions for her female servants.
• Sometimes easier said than done, but get up early - and set the stage for your family. I like to make sure that my husband's coffee is ready, breakfast is in progress and lunches are packed. When possible, I get dinner in the crockpot (so it can cook all day) or write down what I should make for dinner - so it's not so hard at the end of my day to think about it.
• Work hard, as unto the Lord
• Col 3:23 Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters
• So whatever you have in front of you for the day, be diligent, work willingly, be productive.
• Allow for downtime
• Give yourself at least 30 minutes of your day to just rest (have a cup of tea, take a walk, read a book)
• Honor the sabbath
• Doesn't always have to be Sunday
• What this means in my family - no working (no conference calls, no yardwork, no meetings with clients), and spending real time with our kids... and resting.

Don't get so caught up with the little things that the 'big' things in your life are never achieved. Allow yourself to practice this lifestyle. Adding more hours to your day doesn't come overnight but taking steps towards better management of your day will lead to a more peaceful journey.