Category Archives: Time Management

Did You Know To-Do Lists Are Scriptural?!

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Did You Know To-Do Lists Are Scriptural?!

Did You Know To-Do Lists Are Scriptural?!

I think time management is something that a lot of people, if not most, struggle with in life.  Even those people who are excellent managers of their time still have certain areas where they may be more lax or need some improvement.  Something that helps me tremendously is making to-do lists.  I am very much a list person.  To-do lists keep me on track, hold me accountable, and help me not to forget things.  They are also extremely therapeutic for me…more on that in a bit!

In my study of the Bible, I’ve discovered something.  God is pretty good at time management.  I know, earth-shattering news right? 😉  Really though, I’ve learned that good time management skills are important to God.  He is also a God of order and structure (for the most part…sometimes the way He goes about things doesn’t seem very structured in the beginning!).  God is a planner (see Psalm 33:11, Proverbs 19:21, Jeremiah 29:11, Galatians 4:4, and Ephesians 1:11 for just a few examples).  I also felt a bit of kinship with God because HE likes lists TOO!  There are lists all throughout the Bible.  He even gave people to-do lists. 

God likes to-do lists…He’s my kinda guy! #timemanagement

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Examples of to-do lists in the Bible:

To give you just a couple of examples… When God instructed Moses to build the Tabernacle, He gave him very specific to-do lists of how to do it and what to use (Exodus 26).  In Matthew 10, when Jesus sent out the 12 disciples, he sent them off with specific to-do lists of who to talk to, what to do, what to take, where to stay, and even what to do if and when they were rejected (Matthew 10:5-14).

So I guess you could say that making to-do lists is scriptural! 🙂  OK…so maybe it’s NOT a sin to avoid to-do lists, but planning ahead and making lists definitely has its benefits.

A few reasons for making to-do lists…

To-do lists hold us accountable—We are much more likely to accomplish tasks that are written down.

To-do lists are simply lists of daily goals.  We discussed previously that we are much more likely to achieve goals that are written down.  

Planning ahead and making to-do lists can save us time.

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Start the Day Right…

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Start the day right...Here's an example of how this really shifted my mood from bad to good!

Start the Day Right…

“This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it.” Psalm 118:24 (ESV)

Success magazines and self-help sites are loaded with “start the day right” theories, especially at the start of a new year.  I’ve gotta say though, this “start the day right” thing really works!  I know…why am I so surprised that this actually works!?  I’ve been teaching this for years, and I’ve even experienced it on more than one occasion.  Nevertheless, I still surprise myself from time to time.

I’m going to tell on myself…

Several years ago (when I originally wrote this post) my husband Eric used to leave for work before I even got up most of the time.  Sometimes, not always, he would get on these kicks where he would set his alarm for super early but then hit the snooze button.  Consistently.  Over.  And over.  I’m a pretty light sleeper, and it typically takes me a while to even get to sleep.  I’m also a pretty cranky person if I don’t get enough sleep or if I’m overly tired.  Oh, did I mention that the sound of his alarm often wouldn’t wake him? So many times I had to wake him and tell him that his alarm was going off…every 9 minutes…for sometimes an hour.

Needless to say, this occasional morning snooze habit that he used to have tended to make me a little angry drive me insane.  I promise I really tried to stay calm and not get angry.  Really I did.  However, there was a particular day that was not the case.  On that morning it was all I could do not to take his alarm clock and knock him over the head with it.  I’m telling you, I had some choice words in my head!  I became extremely angry and cranky.

Moving past my feelings

I didn’t feel like getting up early to read my Bible and have my quiet time that day.  I didn’t feel like playing praise and worship music.  Nevertheless, I sucked it up and got up regardless of my feelings.  I made a decision to start the day right, even though it went against every grain in my body that day.

I went into the kitchen to make my coffee and whole-grain bagel (even though I felt like eating the plate of leftover Christmas fudge that was still sitting on the countertop).  I pulled up my YouTube praise and worship playlist and clicked “He Lifted Me” to listen to as I made my breakfast.  In full disclosure, I probably used a little more force than I should have to click “play” on the music. It really only takes a light tap, not a blow to the touch screen with my index finger. 🙂  I think I even muttered out loud to myself, “I don’t WANT to listen to praise music!” like a little pouting 3-year-old.  See what a baby I can be at times?  After that song was over, I was still angry but clicked on another song anyway, “O Praise the Name”.

Afterward, I took my breakfast and phone and went to my usual morning chair to read my Bible.  I did each of my reading plans, prayed, and journaled my thoughts.  Amazingly, I even finished before the kids got up.  I think I was still in a little funk but really didn’t pay much attention to it after that because I was on to get the kids up, ready, and off to school.

It worked!

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My Addiction to Hallmark Christmas Movies

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My addiction to Hallmark Christmas movies...

My Addiction to Hallmark Christmas Movies

When I asked Eric what I should write about, he said “your addiction to Hallmark Christmas movies”. Did you sense some sarcasm in that? Me too. Actually, it’s not a bad idea though. I’ve got to be honest. I really am addicted to Hallmark Christmas movies! Sadly, he’s not lying. I admit it. I’m a full-blown Hallmark junkie.

I’m a huge fan of the Hallmark channel and their original movies, albeit cheesy and predictable as they sometimes are. Maybe it’s the predictability that I like? I always know they will tug at my heartstrings. Even if they have some sad parts, I can also always count on a happy ending. Real-life doesn’t always have happy endings, so the certainty of watching one can be enticing.

Maybe the movies are an escape too? That might be where the “addiction” comes in. Addictions are often an escape from something else, aren’t they? Hallmark Christmas movies can offer an escape from an often stress-ridden and drama-filled holiday season. In the movies, we can see the picture-perfect holiday season, traditions, memories, and romance.

Where conviction and moderation come in

Many years ago I discovered that I was developing unrealistic expectations and discontentment in my marriage due to my obsession with romantic movies and books. I felt a strong conviction that I needed to overcome this struggle (that I previously didn’t even know I had). To overcome this, I had to start watching my intake of “romance”. When I started noticing discontentment, I knew I needed to limit how much I was reading and watching. I had to start practicing moderation (or sometimes even eliminate them completely for a while).

If I’m not careful, I can do the same thing with these Hallmark Christmas movies. It can be easy to develop unrealistic expectations of what a Christmas holiday should look like. Real-life might start to pale in comparison to fictional films if I fixate on them constantly. I might start to think, “Man, my Christmas stinks compared to the picturesque traditions and moments they have.” Without caution, I might forget that…THEY AREN’T REAL!!!

My conviction may not be yours

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Life Lessons to be Learned in Fantasy Football

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Here are some Life Lessons to be Learned in Fantasy Football

Life Lessons to be Learned in Fantasy Football

In 2015, I joined a Fantasy Football league.  For anyone that knows me well, this would have probably been some extremely shocking news.  Most people might have said to me, “Don’t you have enough football in your life already?”  You see, my husband and son are avid football fans…of ALL football.  My son played football at the time.  My husband coached at the time.  They’ve played Fantasy Football for years.  Additionally, my husband used to occasionally play flag football with the church.  They both watch…and watch…and watch…both NFL and college ball.  So basically, football is a 7 day/week phenomenon at our house with all the practicing, playing, and watching.  Thus, why I’ve come to despise it.  I’ve often referred to myself as a football widow.

You might see then why joining a Fantasy Football league seemed counterintuitive.  However, a friend somehow convinced me that it would be good for me (and my family), and for some crazy reason, I agreed with her!  More or less, it’s a “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em” philosophy.  My choice to join them was based on wanting to be a part of something that they enjoy so much, even if it’s not an interest of mine.  I hoped that I would also learn to love and enjoy it as they do (well, maybe not quite as much!).  My friend promised me I would have fun, so I told her I was going to hold her to it!

Shared experiences

I also looked forward to the benefits that come from sharing experiences.  According to clinical psychologist Dr. Willard Harley, recreational companionship is one of the top five needs for a man in marriage.  In fact, he puts it this way, “The couple that plays together stays together.”[i]

Recreational companionship is one of the top needs for a man in marriage.

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Although I don’t necessarily agree with all of Dr. Harley’s insinuations that unmet needs are the cause of affairs, I do believe in the importance of shared or common interests and recreational companionship.  Eric and I do this in other areas too.  For example, we both love going to auctions and estate sales. We love being outdoors and on the water and enjoying a few other common interests together.

Now, football (or any sport for that matter) might not be my top preference, but it IS my husband’s and also my son’s.  Therefore, because it’s important to them, I chose to make it important to me.  Who was to say that I might not even really enjoy myself?  I wouldn’t know unless I gave it a try.  Don’t get me wrong though, I definitely still think there can be a ditch there.  When our lives revolve around football, I think that’s really sad…and almost idolatry.  For the time, though, I chose to be a part of the madness. And I figured I might as well get some good blog posts out of it as well! 😉

Here are a few life lessons I learned from Fantasy Football…

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9 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

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Do you have a problem with waiting until the last minute? Here are 9 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

9 Tips for Overcoming Procrastination

*Repost: Originally posted 11/11/2014

Okay…I have a confession.  I completely procrastinated writing this week’s post.  Typically, that’s not a normal occurrence for me.  Time management is usually a forte of mine, but I do tend to slip into bad habits and have a lapse of judgment from time to time.  I know, shocking, right?!

Anyhow, I had good intentions of writing a little bit at a time and finishing up over the weekend.  However, I did everything BUT that…graded papers and essays from my college classes, watched TV, went shopping with my mother-in-law for my birthday gifts (who could pass that up!), ran errands, and just really enjoyed not having to sit at football practice nearly every night (even though I usually did get a lot of work done AT practice).

When I finally decided to sit down and write, I prayed about what to write first (as I always do).  I apologized and told God that I had been procrastinating and that I should’ve started sooner.  I asked if He had any ideas for what He wanted me to write about.  Guess what He said…Write about overcoming procrastination.  Ha!  He’s a funny guy.  I love that God has a sense of humor. 🙂

Procrastination is a trap

Procrastination is such a trap because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring.  We may put something off until tomorrow, and then when tomorrow comes something unexpected may come up that prevents us from doing that thing we procrastinated.

“Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” Proverbs 27:1 (NIV)

“Yet you do not know [the least thing] about what may happen tomorrow. What is the nature of your life? You are [really] but a wisp of vapor (a puff of smoke, a mist) that is visible for a little while and then disappears [into thin air].” James 4:14 (AMP)

Procrastination is such a trap because we don’t know what tomorrow will bring. (Proverbs 27:1)

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Overcoming procrastination is actually a topic we spend quite of bit of time on in the college classes that I teach.  I love showing this comical video clip from Ellen DeGeneres because many can relate (maybe you can too):

I created a handout for my college students with some tips for overcoming procrastination since it was a problem that many of them said they were still dealing with.  That’s what I’d like to share with you (and myself!) today. So here are some practical steps to overcoming procrastination… Continue reading →

Biblical Examples of Waiting

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Biblical Examples of Waiting

Biblical Examples of Waiting

“All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16-17 (NLT)

I love that we can look to the Bible to learn from others but also to gain encouragement. We can see from many of the Bible stories how the characters, these REAL people, were often extremely relatable and went through many of the same types of things that we endure today—maybe not identical circumstances but comparable troubles and accompanying emotions. We can see that we’re in good company. Because ALL scripture is useful for teaching us, including Bible character stories even as adults, I often use “character studies” in my lessons when teaching where we’ll explore different Bible characters that complement our current topic of study.

Today’s post comes directly from a character study worksheet I use on waiting. There are several examples in the Bible of people who had to practice waiting for various things. We’ll discuss of few of them here. I’ll also vary slightly from my typical post format and implement some “practical steps” with some questions to ponder for each character study instead of waiting to include them at the end.

We can learn a lot from and be encouraged by the extremely relatable characters in the Bible. We’re in good company!

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Unfortunately life requires a lot of waiting

Unfortunately throughout our lives, and often on a number of occasions, we will find ourselves waiting. It’s just one of those unenjoyable life truths. A few things we could find ourselves waiting on might include (but are not limited to):

    • Healing
    • A marriage or relationship to be restored
    • Our future spouse
    • Child(ren)
    • Answers, direction, guidance, and/or purpose
    • A loved one to come to or return to God
    • Financial breakthrough
    • Promotion
    • Freedom
    • Justice
    • Change
    • Fulfillment of a dream
    • Fulfillment of a promise

Waiting can be an extremely difficult and sometimes painful process. Previously I wrote a few posts on this topic that you might also find helpful…

When You’re Waiting on God—to give some ways to wait and some encouragement throughout the process

Explanations for Why We Wait on God—to share some potential reasons behind the waiting

Scriptures for Waiting on God— to give some scriptures to focus on during the waiting periods

To supplement these posts, today’s character studies will give some additional encouragement and hopefully some relatable stories from the Bible to help and give some food for thought in the process of waiting.

Abraham was waiting for a son

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Finish What You Start

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Finish What You Start

We’ve been talking about time management lately. A good time management strategy is being able to manage your time well enough to be able to actually finish what you start.

Sometimes I’m kind of bad at starting several small tasks and getting sidetracked which then causes me not to finish any of them. For example, I might set out to dust the living room. As I’m dusting I start straightening up and picking up items (thus I stop my dusting before I’m finished). I notice a couple of my son’s things that he’s left lying in the living room so I take them to his room. Then as I drop of the items in his room I see some dishes that he’s left in there. Next, I decide to take those dishes up to the kitchen.

Once I’m in the kitchen I see the sink full of dishes that need to be loaded into the dishwasher so obviously I have to start working on that! As I’m loading dishes I remember that need to send an email. I decide that I better go ahead and do that before I forget. So open my email and before I write my email I see several unopened emails that I decide to go ahead and check. I think you can see where I’m going here! 🙂 I’ve started several tasks but have unfinished dusting, straightening, dishes, and an email never sent.

It kind of reminds me of this funny video on procrastination and getting stuff done…

Spiritual laws of progression

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Time Management–Priorities

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Time Management: Priorities...one thing is needed

Time Management–Priorities

“One thing is needed…”

“Now it happened as they went that He entered a certain village; and a certain woman named Martha welcomed Him into her house. And she had a sister called Mary, who also sat at Jesus’ feet and heard His word. But Martha was distracted with much serving, and she approached Him and said, “Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Therefore tell her to help me.”

And Jesus answered and said to her, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and troubled about many things. But one thing is needed, and Mary has chosen that good part, which will not be taken away from her.” Luke 10:38-42 (NKJV)

*This post was inspired by Matthew Henry’s commentary on this passage of scripture.[1]

Many people often read this story and relate to one of the characters, either Martha or Mary. I relate to Martha. In fact, in the same situation, I can’t say that I would’ve reacted much differently than Martha did. If I was working hard and somebody else was just sitting around leaving me to do all the work by myself, I would’ve been irritated too! This is why it’s always been pretty convicting for me when I read this.

However, I think all too often most people read this story like I did and think it’s a lesson of how Martha was bad and Mary was good. Then about 5 years ago I got a different take on this story after reading Matthew Henry’s commentary. This isn’t a story of good versus bad. It’s a story of priorities.

Martha and Mary had very different personalities. Martha was probably a perfectionist (as many of us are), and Mary was probably a little more relaxed and laid back. Differences in personality are not wrong or bad. God does not want us to change our personalities—He just wants us to fix our priorities. Jesus wasn’t asking Martha to be more like Mary–He was just pointing out that Mary had correct priorities. Jesus also did not say that what Martha was doing wasn’t important—He just said “one thing” was necessary or needful (which was time with him or making him a priority). Like Martha, it’s so easy for us to get busy with the many things of life and miss out on the “one thing” that is the most important—time with the Lord. 

It’s easy to get busy and miss out on the most important “one thing” —time with God.

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Admirable things about Martha

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