Cutting back. I think about how much stuff I really do in a day... in a week. What do I accomplish? Why do I feel rushed and stressed? Usually, I feel like it's because I'm so busy - and then I stop to think about how much free time I'd probably have if I would cut one or two things from the stack of stuff-to-do.

Starting with the frivolous - I could do away completely with the television during the week. I mean it, there is nothing on. While a few shows might make me laugh or think, I can do that without TV's help. I hear pastor talking about spending more time in prayer or reading the bible - and it's true. I can shrug those kinds of statements off and say I don't waste time, but the truth is that we all waste time watching too much TV. Except college football - absolutely no waste there. Amen?

Also frivolous - PC time. I'm getting better about this, but it drains so much time surfing the 'net. I mean, I work in front of my laptop all day, then go home to check email and surf, and somewhere in there I post to this blog - time-sucking thing that it is. My eyes should probably be pixelated by now. And again, I'm not alone. If we could turn off the TVs and PCs around America, I'd venture to say we could save marriages, get out of debt, and make our families healthier. Broad generalized stroke - but when these tools and toys become objects of affection over real people relationships, something's screwed up. Can I get a witness?

What else eats my time? The bathroom - but please don't take that away. It's the closest thing I have to an office, a room to think, a place to hide and ponder the weightiness of life, the universe and everything.

So here's my "plan" - stay out of the living room (where the TV and PC are) and spend more time in the bathroom... Um, no, that won't work. Kids will find me eventually. But I do need to sit at the kitchen table more to read and drink coffee - or go upstairs and stretch across the bed to play gamecube with my son (and then get him off of it, since it's something that definitely eats *his* time away!) - or go out to the playroom/sunroom and take a nap, feel the breeze - or tickle-wrestle with my kids - or read the bible in the backyard on the deck - or date my wife, make her feel special, wanted, romanced.

All that would be better, more meaningful and more fulfilling uses for my time. Amen?

Wny is this a big deal? Because the time is short. Because now is the day of salvation. Because I don't want to waste what I can never get back. Because while God's mercies are new every morning, and I am so very thankful for that, I've still got to deal with the same issues day after day, and I don't want to waste time on things the ultimately don't matter. I'm not being a prude - I love to kick back and be lazy, and maybe there's a time for that in a non-sinful and non-selfish way. But on the same note, I waste too much time, meaninglessly and temporal. Bottom line: I want to be involved in things that have duration, staying power, that are also meaningful and worth doing, and worth doing well and intentionally.

Preach it....
- posted by Rick @ 10:46