There were no blog posts for April 5th of 2014 though December 29th of 2014
Today I begin again to write a weekly blog. One, it helps others stay informed about what I am doing and where my heart is. Two it helps those who want to pray for me and speak into my life. Three, it helps me gather my thoughts each week and assess what I have accomplished and where I need to improve.
I’ve learned from lessons in other areas of my life that many of the plans I have will never see the light of day, and the ones I am struggling with need to be revised to be worthwhile in my life now. I learned this some of this from a video course I took on time management which taught me four principles of making it all fit.
I hope what I have gleaned from these principles will help you too.
Delete
The first principle ia delete. This is hard for me. My back burner is stacked full of projects that I am sure one day I’ll finally have an opportunity to get to. However, nowadays I feel the Lord prompting me to give them up. Some are just a note on a piece of paper. Others I’ve planned have become pages upon pages organized in a folder. Some I can wad up and quickly dismiss from my mind. Others I still have to transfer to my list of “maybes.” I’ve not yet found the grace to deal with the larger projects that I have already invested time and thought into. However, I am filtering through the viability of some. Things change so fast these days that some of my wonderful ideas have just simply become out of date.
One thing, that has required a lot of work and expense in the past, is finally biting the dust this year. Our media ministry is discontinuing production of cassette tapes. We continued to record our services to cassette alongside our DVD and CD recordings throughout 2014. However, this year we are ending this form of media because we did not receive one request for a cassette for the entire year of 2014.
Delay
When I speak of delaying things I do not mean just to keep putting them off forever and my unwillingness to delete stuff. Literally I mean to reschedule those things that are worthy projects, but their time is not yet. Rescheduling some things allow you to focus better on completing projects that are currently underway. I even preached a message last year on this topic called “The Power of the Written Word.”
This message presented the power we have to write down something on our calendars and do it when that day comes up. This helps us live in what we can do today and not worry about tomorrow. Delaying a project also gets it off the back burner. I liken my daily schedule to a stove. It only has four burners and I usually only get about four things done a day. Mind you, one is prayer and the second is my Bible study time.
Diminish
Diminishing the scope of a project is probably my hardest discipline in life. As I get into something it tends to grow in my mind. As new possibilities reveal themselves I want to encompass them into the current project as well. As a result, sometimes the project grows beyond the realm of possibility, and even necessity. However, being unwilling to cut back on the extras causes things to come to a halt.
I have been praying for God to give me greater wisdom concerning this. To help in this area I am taking even more time to plan projects and have a better understanding of what I want to accomplish before I begin. It’s very hard for me to give up on something once I have begun working on it.
One final note about this: Sometimes God won’t let me give up on some things. These are things he seems to have a reason for being the way they are. In these areas there is just something in my spirit that keeps holding on until it comes to pass. When it comes to a vision God has given you, I don’t think he wants you to cut back on it until it is something you can handle on your own. Like I always say, “Don’t leave God out of the equation.” Maybe he wants you to continue depending on him until you see the reality of your vision.
Delegate
The art of delegation has proved difficult for me also. I often expect people to push themselves for excellence as hard as I do. I expect them to see the things I do and I demand increase in their assignments. The “whatever” attitude that so many people have in the church just does not set well with me. I cannot believe delegation means to hand over your dreams to the whims of other people when they do not have the heart for it that you do. The first and foremost thing I need to see in someone before I can delegate a project to them is that they actually care about what I care about.
Too often people are looking for the quickest way to an end rather than invest themselves to grow up into the task at hand. Also, I cannot abide delegating things to a person who will not be accountable to me and resents my watchful eye. Just because I give something to someone else to do, does not mean it is not important to me. So important, that if I am caused to fear for the project, I will think nothing of taking it back until others prove their worth. I have a long way to go with being able to delegate. Especially when it comes to the things of God.
Well, it is good once again to blog. If hope it helps you, as you read, as much as it helps me, as I write. Writing is a gift, but you have to keep in practice, because it is also a skill and a discipline. The above principles I have mentioned are coming into play in my weekly blog also. Meaning, I have to remember, it’s a blog, only a brief article online — relevant only for the moment. It’s not a book or thesis paper. I’m going to use the principle of diminish until I can achieve the goal of consistent each week.
Until next week, pray for me and the people of Calvary. May the Lord use us greatly this year to advance his kingdom and “STAND for the TRUTH!”