Week Fifty-Two, 2019
A BUSY YEAR?
By Florida Senator John Grant, Retired.
The new year is upon us and a time when many resolve what they want in the coming year. Usually it is about wanting more. What if our resolutions were wanting less….. less busyness in our lives? Maybe less busyness is the answer.
We live in a world where busyness is king. We’re so busy glorifying how busy we are, we miss out on experiencing the moments that matter. And while we’re so busy making a living, we forget to make life—which is quite tragic. Busyness crushes our soul, and we should focus more on reducing the number of things on our calendar than adding to it. The key to removing busyness is simple—live intentionally and identify areas in our life we can replace with quiet time.
Almost everything will work again if you unplug it for a few minutes, including you. Many of us, including me, suffer from FOMO – the fear of missing out. We’re simply afraid if we don’t attend that event, don’t sign up for that committee, or don’t enroll our kids in that sport, we’ll miss out on something.
We think there is happiness to be had, joy to be experienced, and moments to be made. Yes, there might be some truth to this, but who’s to say the moments of solitude or quiet time won’t measure up—or even exceed those altogether?
In solitude, we see more clearly. Alone—in moments of prayer or meditation, or simply in stillness—we breathe more deeply, see more fully, hear more keenly. We notice more, and in the process, we return to what is sacred.
How we spend our days is how we spend our lives. It starts with the decision to live more intentionally, and to make quiet time a priority. Each day is just as important as the next in creating the life we imagine.
Here’s the bottom line: It is not selfish to want time for yourself. It is not selfish to want moments where you can leave the world behind and recapture the magic. I encourage you in the year 2020 to find one—just one—area in your life that you can make a change. Take one small step towards a quiet life.
So turn it off. Put it down. Do not open it. And do not answer it. For once, put yourself first. Love yourself and make yourself a priority. Even for just one day, you deserve everything.
HAPPY NEW YEAR 2020!
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SOMETIMES TRUE STORIES
The truest test of character:
It has been said that the truest test of character is how we treat people we don’t have to treat well.
When people hurt us, our society tells us we have the right to hurt them in return. Jesus says we have the privilege of loving them by praying for them.
When Christians decide that Christ is right and culture is wrong, the culture is drawn to Christ.
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How Comparison is the Thief of Joy:
When we compare ourselves to others, we set ourselves up to add “more” into our life. More money, more cars, more houses, and more stuff. We fall victim to the old adage of “keeping up with the Joneses” which prevents us from living the life we really want to live.
The problem is that we typically compare our “worst” to their “best”, which really paints a bleak picture. Envy is ever joined with the comparing of a man’s self; and where there is no comparison, no envy.
Too many people live their lives without intentionality or thought. They rarely find a quiet moment to sit in meditation or solitude and examine their life—who they are and who they are becoming.
We should stop comparing our lives, and start living them.
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QUOTES YOU CAN USE
There are three things that are important in human life. The first is to be kind. The second is to be kind. The third is to be kind.
Maya Angelou: “I’ve learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel.”
“Sometimes you need to sit lonely on the floor in a quiet room in order to hear your own voice and not let it drown in the noise of others.” —Charlotte Eriksson
You don’t find hope. It finds you often on the way to someone else. Pastor John Onwuchekwa
Christians don’t retire, they refire. Sol Pitchon
Pastors cannot point the way in prayer, they must lead the way in prayer.
How a Church Prays Tells Us Whether It Has Strayed. Ken Whitten
By concentrating on what’s happening to us today, we can miss what will happen to us tomorrow. Jim Denison
Pro-Abortion Professor: Pro-Lifers Shouldn’t Go into Healthcare, They’re “Not Worthy of Serving the Public.”