Less Facebook, More His Book

I’m too busy! Are you guilty of uttering that phrase every now and then? I sure am. 

One of my big goals for 2013 is to use my time wisely. Less Facebook, more His book. Less mind-numbing TV…more quality reading. Fewer board meetings and charity work and WAY MORE TIME (major emphasis here) with family, friends and bible study. I closed my marketing and public relations business officially this past Fall. That was a hard decision, but it was time to just LET IT GO. 

Can you relate… at all? Maybe not to the board meetings, or the business thing, or even all the charity stuff….but I am CERTAIN that you relate to the B U S Y part. And the desire to just LET IT GO!

We all have bills to pay, mouths to feed, kids to take care of, jobs to work, homes to maintain, etc. That’s called RESPONSIBILITY. I’m not talking about letting that stuff go. I’m talking about all the “extra” stuff we pack into a day. It's different for everyone. Some folks use work as a distraction, they go above and beyond what they need to do so they can ignore the other parts of life. Been there, done that. And others choose to pack their day with way too many activities, whether it's play dates, charity work, school functions, church functions, errands, baking projects, house projects, craft projects, husband projects, kid projects…and the list goes on and on. Been there, done that too. It seems like everyone is hopping from one commitment to the next these days and I’m exhausted just thinking about it!

Recent studies show that, on average, people have nearly an hour MORE "free time" today than they did back in the 1960s. Can you believe that? I mean, how is that even possible? The last I heard, time has always been measured in 24 hour increments.

But if we really have more time, thanks to technological advancements and all that jazz…then why in the world aren't we spending some of this extra time developing a deeper relationship with God and reading His word?

Is it because we don’t really want to? Or are we really just that busy?

I guess only you can answer that question.

Don't Worry Be Happy

I think it’s time we learned to BE HAPPY WITH LESS. Less busyness that is.We need to stop running around like a “chicken with its head cut off" and spend more time just sitting. In silence. Recharging our batteries – physical, emotional, spiritual and mental. (Note: I use that chicken phrase a lot when I write because it fits what I’m we’re doing! We are literally running ourselves ragged like that poor old headless chicken …and believe me the end result ain't pretty! You've been to the grocery store.)

ENJOY THE SILENCE - RECHARGE YOUR SPIRITUAL BATTERIES (a.k.a. Be Less Busy!)

God must have known that unless I had a little forced silence to kick off this New Year (30 days of laryngitis is not a lifestyle choice), I would never appreciate the need for silence. Or truly understand the benefits of being less busy. But now I do. And I guess I want you to benefit from the “be happy with less” busyness mentality too!

Look at it this way, in the whole scheme of things, when we travel to that great big cloud in the sky…will it matter that we spent X hours a week in the kitchen baking, or X% of our life doing housework or running errands? Or that we finally got those kitchen renovations done? Or took that safari to Africa? Or spent all those hours (way too many) on Facebook?

I’m just guessing here….but I’m fairly sure God doesn't care quite as much about the time we spend on Facebook and other distractions of this world, as He does about the quality time we spend in HIS book. And I’m pretty sure He would agree there is more value in spending time each day sharing His love with others, than catching the latest episode of our favorite TV sitcom.

So please take some time to enjoy the silence each day. Recharge your spiritual batteries. Fill yourself up with the Word. Let your cup overflow to others. And if you are thinking "I'm just too busy" or "there aren't enough hours in the day," it might be time to reprioritize your schedule. Just sayin.'