In my last post, I left you with our road map to coming up with a P.L.A.N. for managing our time.
To recap, here's where we are going:
1. P--Purpose
2. L-Logistics
3. A--Application
4. N-Negotiate
In this post, I'd like to start with the first step. The "P" in our P.L.A.N. stands for purpose. We need to have a purpose if we are to get the most out of managing our time.
But to start out I'd like for you to pause a moment and consider what your purpose is for what you do on a daily basis.
Is it to get more done in the day? Is it to be more purposeful in the things you are doing or that you want to do? Is it to be a blessing to others? Let's dig even deeper...Why is it that you want to get more done in the day? Or to be a blessing? Is it for your children? Is it for your husband? Is it for you? While these can be noble purposes, I'd like to suggest an even nobler one. In order for our time to be truly meaningful, it must be for the sole purpose of glorifying of God.
I'm afraid that in my own life, my purpose has drifted to another god--that of self. And so in the next 2 posts, I'd like to direct our attention to what God's Word, the Bible, tells us and some common pitfalls that we can fall into.
The first scripture that comes to my mind is I Corinthians 10:31 So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. In other words even in the everyday, mundane things of life, we are to bring glory to God. This task is much more difficult than it at first seems. For me, a look into my thought life helps me to see what my true purposes are. Am I worried about my kids and how they will fare in life? Am I worried about what others think about what I am doing? Am I looking for the approval or praise of men? Am I looking to others because they seem to have it all together and so I'm trying to make their plan work for me? Far too often I find myself, looking for the approval of man or trying to glorify myself instead of bringing glory to God alone. I pray that He will help us all in our weakness.
Next, Proverbs 16:3 says "Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established. And so in this verse, we see that the Lord wants us to commit our work to him and He will establish our plans. Most homeschooling moms that I know of have plenty of work to do. Everyone that I know wishes they had just a few more hours in their day. And would like to be more purposeful so that they can squeeze in a few more things into their already busy lives.
So how can we do that? A good place to start, if we are truly wanting to work on time mangement, is with prayer. Ask the Lord to help you as you consider the plans that He has for your family. Ask Him to help you to establish the plans that He has for each of your children, for your husband, and for yourself, then expect Him to help you. And just so I don't forget to mention this, your husband should take an active role in this process. Pray together. Work together. And watch the Lord establish your plans together. I know that many times, Todd has helped me to see things that I would have missed and would have later caused me grief. I'm so grateful for the way the Lord uses Todd to compliment me. And together we are a much better team!
Finally,Ephesians 5:15-16 tells us to "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." Here we have a warning to be wise and make the best use of our time. So obviously, the Lord knew that sometimes we don't hit that mark, and encourages us to keep focused.
In the next post, I'll talk about some common pitfalls that cause us to lose focus from our ultimate purpose of glorifying God.
But today, I'd like to encourage you to spend some time considering what your purpose is in managing your time. If it is not for the glory of the Lord, then I urge you to repent, to seek Him and to commit your plans to the Lord.
May the Lord alone be glorified!
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