Schedule

One of the first principles of time management is this: What gets scheduled gets done.

Most of us have a pretty good grasp on many of these rules. Even if you only read the covers on the magazines while you wait in line at the grocery store; especially if you read any of the self-help books. There aren’t that many new rules for having a good life. And you already know all the old ones:

Never skip breakfast.
Exercise for thirty minutes at least three times a week.
It’s essential to be consistent if you want to train your puppy well.
Make sure your plate holds more vegetables than meat.
Don’t leave your big assignment ‘til the day before it’s due.

You can list a million of them. Right?

But that scheduling one is worth gold. We can have good intentions from here to eternity. We can sincerely believe that we ought to invite a friend, to share about our most valued relationship with Jesus. We all have a deep desire to end the suffering in the world around us. Imagine how wonderful it would be if we really could abolish poverty. Every single one of us would dearly love to live in a country, a world that is more peaceful—where justice rules.

At least one of those things is probably something we might say “matters most” to us. If so, then here’s the best advice of all those self-help gurus. If you want something to happen, decide what steps you can take to start moving in that direction and put it in the schedule.

This is the season when most of our congregations are drafting our church calendars. We’re creating our schedules. If we’re truly honest when we look at those schedules, we should be able to see what matters most to us. If those mission initiatives truly resonate in our hearts, then we’ll be making every effort to create events, activities, space that will make something happen. Something that will make a difference in the community where our congregation is planted, where our people live and work and have their being.

How’s your calendar shaping up? Is it looking pretty much exactly as it always does? Have you considered how your fall dinner or your Christmas concert or you spring rummage sale are moving the world toward the abolition of poverty or the advancement of the cause of peace and justice? Because if we want those things to happen, we need to schedule them!

I know several of you have booked working sessions to spend some time working on What Matters Most and creating a strategy for your congregation. Good for you! Make sure your strategy includes some scheduling. Because what gets scheduled gets done.

Posted by Marion

Shopping

The Christmas shopping frenzy is over. The crowds of people, desperately seeking the gifts they hoped would satisfy family and friends finally went home from the stores on December 24th, needing to get those gifts wrapped, labeled and stacked up around the tree just in time for someone else to rip them open on Christmas morning. Then, often in a matter of moments, its all over. The stuff is everywhere, and the wrapping paper, ripped, torn and crumpled, is scattered across the floor.

I found it interesting this year that the television news people, always needing something to talk about, reported steadily that “retail analysts” predicted every nuance of the spending habits of our populace. They could forecast how many transactions would be made per second across the country, how many purchases would be made by Visa or MasterCard, and how much many millions of dollars we would collectively spend. And we did. According to later reports, Canadians exceeded their expectations. Shareholders of all the various companies involved should feel blessed, for we blessed them.

If one stopped and thought about it logically, one might have thought that all that shopping would be enough for a long, long time; certainly for weeks, probably for months, perhaps even for a whole year. Alas, not so. The Christmas shopping frenzy is over, and now the Boxing Week frenzy has begun. In central Canada, one day after the end of this intense month of shopping, we the people are back in the stores, looking for things to buy. This week we will lug home big screen TVs, cameras, crock pots, and who knows what. Store parking lots are full, isles are crowded, “Sale” signs are everywhere, and we “consumers” dutifully respond.

I sometimes wonder what Jesus would make of all this. What would he think of the frenzy of consumption that happens every year, all supposedly in the name of celebrating his birth; a frenzy that, in fact, has nothing to do with him? Somehow I think he would laugh. I imagine some rather sardonic amusement as he shakes his head and makes his way to the shelter to hang out with some people he loves. No frenzy here, just a crowded but warm church basement, a bowl of hot soup, a slice or two of bread, and a friendly smile from those servers who “get it.”

Well, enough of this early morning musing. I had better get dressed and ready to go. After all, the stores will open soon!

Posted by Carman

Attention

I'm thinking of this word today as we once again need to be making those necessary priority decisions. Where shall I put my attention? One of the most important things to do with intent is to set one's attention correctly. And yet, how hard it can be.

It's just so much easier to let life happen, to go with the flow. How very often a day or a week has passed by and I find myself saying "Where did that day go?" It really didn't GO anywhere. I just wasn't paying enough attention.

Other times, I've been amazed at just how very much can be accomplished in a relatively short time. Or how many goals can be covered simultaneously by careful noting where overlaps can be achieved--if I've been careful to set priorities and be strategic.

As I'm heading back home following this amazing experience that was World Conference with a renewed sense of purpose and motivation, I'm also trying to be very sure and careful about where my attention needs to go. I expect to hear from our leadership team some of the things they'll be discussing at the Leadership meetings they're attending for a couple of days yet. But I'm already confident that most of the priorities that have been confirmed for us are sending us in the right directions. (Watch this space for further commentary!)

I'm also certain that most of us will benefit from an increased resolve to give our attention mindfully and strategically. Excuse me please; I need to go make a list.

Posted by Marion

Clutter

I am in a de-cluttering mood just now. Tomorrow is pick-up day on my street and I've got a couple of big bags to go to charity and the nicest, neatest dresser drawers you could imagine.

My house was built in 1904, so closet space is very limited. When something comes in, something must go out. I've already confessed my stacks of books; truly I have other stacks as well. Today I begin to clear some of this paper clutter from my surroundings.

We speak quite alot about setting goals, establishing priorities, determining what matters most. Maybe one of the reasons this sometimes is so hard is that we try to hang onto too many things. Maybe we need to be honest about some of the things we're holding onto and confess that some of that stuff is just clutter!

Continuing conversations about Goals, Enduring Principles and now Words of Counsel might also include making some decisions about things I've always thought. I just might need to clear some of my personal clutter as I seek out the universal spiritual principles.

I am trying to hear that call to covenant that "requires whole-life stewardship dedicated to expanding the church’s restoring ministries" and I don't want any of my clutter getting in the way.

Frustration

I've been hearing a fair bit of frustration expressed around me of late. I've heard it as impatience or dissatisfaction with the status quo.

Sometimes it sounds like a lack of direction or purpose. Maybe the vision is there but the frustration is with those who appear to lack motivation for the task. At times, the frustration is with others who don't feel the same urgency as the speaker.

Often the frustration is with self for being out of balance or unable to deal with life's challenges. Too much to do; too many demands on too little time; a need to readjust priorities, to cut out some stuff.

How can I squeeze these square pegs into the round hole of "What's the Good Word" you ask?

I'm hearing a stirring of the waters. I'm feeling as if there are many people who are being prompted by some good spirit to re-examine their priorities, to make some necessary changes in their life. Many people who've shared these feelings of frustration appear to have come to the point that the status quo just isn't cutting it any more.

One good sister shared that she'd finally decided to listen to her own heart and look into the housing project near her church. She was sure there must be something she could do there. For months she'd felt frustrated by what she judged as a lack of concern in her congregation. But now she's not judging anyone. She just made the call herself! One day I'll tell you how it's going! Another good story.

But today, I'm focusing on frustration as a good word. What do you think? Are you one of those with a heart for mission that needs to make some changes in your own life and respond actively to what the Spirit is prompting you to do?

This is not about urging all you busy people to take on more. It's a call to some of you rare individuals out there whose frustration needs reinterpreting and redirecting and refocusing because you're sensing that it's really a call in a new direction. If this is you, I'd love to hear from you. We should talk.