The Day The Wheels Came Off

I probably should have expected this to happen.  Just when I started talking about some of these topics, the wheels came off.  First, a little background might help...

In this Unleash series we're doing at PCC, I'm talking about some really cool topics that are very practical - relationships, time, money and more.  How can you unleash the full potential of what you have in your life?  God gave us the wisdom and the tools we need in the timeless truths of the Bible.  

So, on February 3, I talked about Unleashing your Time. "Each of us is given the exact same amount of time," I said.  "From the President to the billionaire to you and me.  Nobody has any more than anyone else.  You can't buy it, rent it or borrow it. 10,080 minutes each week.  Each one ripe with opportunity.  Each of them ready to be redeemed.  The question is:  Are you redeeming your time?  Maximizing your time?" 

Using Ephesians 5:15-17, we talked about setting a life mission or purpose, then priorities, then schedules - in that order.  

It all sounded so nice, so defined, so...orderly.  And, honestly, it normally runs pretty well.  I live a busy life, but I think that's ok.  My life is prioritized based on my life mission, and my time is allocated based on my priorities, just like I taught, and I generally redeem my time, make the most of the opportunities given to me, just like Paul tells us to in Ephesians 5.

But the day I taught on it, the wheels came off!  One crises after another hit, rapid fire.  Any one or two of them would have been easily absorbed, since I build some crisis expectation into my calendar, but there was just too much in the unexpected category to handle.  Not all of it was bad stuff, but all of it was unplanned stuff.  And it just threw everything in my schedule into complete chaos!  

Of course, this happens from time to time, but what made it so ironic was that I just taught about how to manage time in an effective, God-honoring way where you could control your own schedule!!!

By Wednesday of last week, I found myself taking a deep breath and just laughing out loud.  God and I had a good chuckle about it all. It's the way life is, isn't it?  

So, I'm now coming back to my own teaching - something I've done many, many times.  Making corrections, evaluating priorities to ensure alignment with my mission and purpose, then looking at the allocation of my time.  Divesting some things, saying no to some stuff so I can say yes to some other stuff.  

It really works...most of the time!