Not Enough of Me to Go Around

Have you ever felt that their is not enough of you to go around?
Have you ever had to be in three places at the same time?
Have you ever felt like you are running on empty tank?

Well you have to stop and look and the Word of God. We have clear answers for our frantic life.
I know as a working wife and a mother of four that time is hard to find. But I have learned to make priorities in my life. And it helped me with a lot of the responsibilities that I have. I pray that God will encourage you to follow Him in this matter. There is always enough time in any one day to do the things Christ wants us to do. He has called us to be faithful, not frantic.

Jesus never seemed to hurry anywhere, yet we are told that he finished every single one of his objectives during his short life. The night before his agony on the cross began and his earthly life ended, he looked toward heaven and prayed, “I have brought you glory on earth by completing the work you gave me to do” (John 17:4). And as he drew his last breath, he made the incredible statement, “It is finished” (John 19:30) Nothing essential was left undone.
Charles Bradshaw and Dave Gilbert

Here Are a Few Tips to Help Manage Your Time

Do the most important thing first – Think about the most important things that you need to do tomorrow. Write them down, and number each task according to its importance. Don’t worry if you don’t complete everything by the end of the day; at least you will have completed the most important projects. Do this every day

Don’t put it off – “Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today, because if you enjoy it today you can do it again tomorrow” James Michener

Plan ahead
Monthly – Make plans for the month, maybe you have to send a Birthday Card to a friend. It would be nice to have that ready at the beginning of the month that will save you time on a daily schedule. All you have to do is send it.
Weekly – Before the beginning of each new week, sin down to think about big things first thins small things.
Daily – Write out a schedule for each day, preferably at the beginning of each week. After you’ve recorded your appointments, write down things you need to do and other things you’d like to do. Work on the most important things first. The other things will fall into place.

Organize you space –
1. Get rid of anything you don’t use. The less you own, the less time it takes to care for what you own.
2. Assign a place for everything
3. Use the space you’ve assigned

Delegate – Many time we assume that it’s too difficult to explain tasks or responsibilities to anyone else, so we attempt to do everything ourselves. Not being able to delegate may also reflect a need to ensure a “perfect” outcome every time – another indication of our perfectionism. Delegating begins early with young children when we say “Please finish picking up your cars by the time the song on your tape is done.” The good news is that older children are capable of performing bigger jobs.

Learn to day no – This is a big one! It took me years to do that!

Deal with interruptions – As much as we’d like to get rid of them, we need to realize that there will always be interruptions, so it’s realistic to allow for a few each day. If interruptions get out of control, though, we won’t be able to accomplish the most important things. Be creative! You’ll come up with methods that are appropriate for your schedule, and even if you eliminate only a few interruptions, you’ll have more time to devote to important things

Communicate clearly – “Reliable communication permits progress” Proverbs 13:17
When you’re dealing with plans made between children, it doesn’t hurt to clarify details twice. As much as we want our children to learn independence, we are wise to clarify directions.

Limit paperwork – Purchasing and organizing a pretty filing basket in the kitchen will take some of the clutter off the kitchen counters. Label files for each child, files for menu plans, files for upcoming events – basically files for everything in your life. Color-coding pages might be a good idea too.

Make lists – Lists are records that help us keep our life running smoothly.

Limit telephone time – Telephones can be extremely helpful. As helpful as they are, telephones can also feel like a nuisance. Receiving of yet another phone call from a long-winded talker sometimes leaves us feeling that we wasted thirty minutes of our time.

Get family working as a team – Working together, the ants accomplish a task much larger than any one ant could have accomplished alone. The ants work together to carry the yellow leaf acrows the sidewalk. Our families can function the same way. Some tasks, like brushing our teeth, are meant to be done alone. Other tasks, like clearing the dinner table or cleaning the house, can be performed more quickly and efficiently if we do them together.

I would like to leave you with a few more things for this week.

Reflect on these Questions:
Read John 17. What things were important to Jesus?
Write out your personal mission statement in one short – or long paragraph
What is one of your biggest time-wasters?
What is one area in which you have been learning to say no?
What is one thing you have been putting off that you might tackle this week?
What is one thing that you might consider delegating to someone else?
Read chapters 1 and 6 of Daniel. What was most important to Daniel? What wore Daniel’s needs? How were his needs met?

God bless you all this week!