Time out!

Articles

1

Is anybody else wondering how the year went by so fast? It seems just as I was finally getting use to writing 2013 the year 2014 has arrived! As I’ve gotten older it feels like the years are going by faster.  It stresses me out!

As a new year begins it usually gives us time to reflect.  Did we stick to the resolutions made on January 1^st? Most of us make promises to eat better, exercise more, get healthy and maybe spend more time in the word….did it happen?

As for myself I missed the mark on a lot of my “plans” for 2013. I looked back at this year and tried to see where my time went. Where should it have gone? Did I have my priorities straight? Has it been God-husband-children-work in that order?

We will have to account to our Heavenly Father for our time on earth.  He gives us enough time to accomplish His plans and His purpose for our lives. We are the ones that get distracted and in my opinion waste time on things that don’t have eternal value.

So as I reflected on my 2013 it became apparent to me that I wasted a lot of unnecessary time on things that in the grand scheme of life don’t really matter. Here’s my list and my plan to correct them for 2014.

1. God needs to be my priority every day. He should be the first thing I think of when I wake up. To reestablish this I need to do my devotionals in the morning. This year started out well but then I allowed worries, plans for day, schedules etc to take over.  My first question in the morning will need to be do my actions show that God is first in my life? Am I honoring Him and spending time getting to know my Abba?
2. I need to let go and let God do his work on others.  We’ve all got difficult people in our lives and maybe we try to change them. Perhaps you keep pointing out errors in their behavior or keep trying to make a point with them. I spent a lot of energy worrying and allowing their critical remarks/actions to encompass my thoughts.  The only thing I can really do for those people is step back and pray that God speaks to them and to remember that they need an open and willing heart to listen to the Holy Spirit.  I spent too much time this year worrying and trying to help as much as I could only to be disappointed.  I’ve decided this year to allow God to do His work and to ask myself before dealing with other’s issues….am I helping or am I in God’s way? May seem harsh to some. I am not saying cut difficult people out of your life but I do recommend stepping back and reevaluating relationships.
3. After God, spouse and children should be our priority. I am a workaholic and at times too ambitious. As a working mom I can get caught up in daily schedules and neglect my family. I need to be “present” when interacting with husband and kids and more than just physically present. Who isn’t guilty of being distracted by “to do” list while sitting at dinner? So I’m going to actually put my spouse and children on my appointment list. You may think this is odd but I came to this conclusion because we have no problem making appointments for hair and nails etc. And if you are anything like me you don’t skip out on those. Don’t my children and husband deserve more? A date night with my husband and family date nights are going to be essential to me this year.  The goal is to think of nothing else but enjoying my time with them.
4. Be less critical. It’s very easy to point out mistakes in others and myself. Focusing on the negative is where most of us go. If I am less critical of others and focus on the positives, especially when I’m disappointed, it takes less time to overcome. It needs to become routine.  I can’t say how many times I have gone over mistakes in my mind whether mine or others and basically have a mental argument with myself. Work on appreciation versus focusing on depreciation of someone or even myself.
5. Eat better and exercise more!

Resolutions are promises we make to ourselves. We may have more success if we think about resolutions as promises to God-let Him be our accountability partner. Take a “time out” and reflect over 2013 from an eternal perspective versus a worldly one.  Happy New Year!

“When you make a promise to God, don’t delay in following them for God has no pleasure in fools. Keep all promises you make to Him.” Ecclesiastes 5:4