Time-Out, Time-Out, TIME-OUT!

Wouldn't it be good if we could stop the clock? Just like they do in sporting events, as the clock is running down, we could simply call for a time-out. I know we can stop or slow down, but the clock never stops. It just keeps ticking and tocking. The 24 hours you get in a day, the 8760 hours you get in a year, just keeps ticking away, never slowing down. Before long the 8760 hours have long passed and we stand around wondering how the time flew by.

If you're like me, you need at least 48 hours in a day. Even with that, of course we still wouldn't get everything done on our to-do list. We would manage to still load up our day with way too much to do. We would try to cram 72 hours worth of tasks into those 48 hours. And in doing so, we would be even more exhausted at the end of the day. Somehow, I think in God's infinite wisdom, He knew just how long to make a day. He knew that 24 hours was all we needed. Any more than that would be more than we were created to handle.

Still in those 24 hours, there are those moments when a time-out would come in handy. A moment when the clock stops and we sit to take a breather and regroup. As great as that would be, we don't get any. The clock just keeps rolling....tick, tick, tick, tick. If you manage to live to be 90, you'll have just under 789,000 hours. I know that seems like a lot, but if you're like me, I'm quickly approaching the half-way mark and man did those first 300,000+ hours fly by. Regardless of where you find yourself on the journey, the fact remains that at the moment you were born the clock began and it hasn't stopped since.

While we all have different life-spans, the truth is we all get the same amount of time in each day. 24 hours. That's it. No more, no less. And once its gone, its gone. We all have lists a mile long of things that need to get done and at the end of the day its still a mile long. Since, time-outs are not an option, then good time management is a premium. Sitting down and doing a survey of what's truly important is a must. Let's face it, we all have things on that to-do list that in the grand scheme of things is of little importance. Regrets are the product or sacrificing the important things for the unimportant. You know as well as I do, that although we may get through most of our to-do list in a given day, if it was at the expense of what is really important there's little satisfaction in the end.

Of course, I try to live life with God's kingdom in my sights. I attempt to value what He values. I try desperately to keep focussed on what is eternal rather than on what is temporal. Trust me, I don't always get it right. That being said, getting it right is my goal. I just know that when its all said in done, at the end of the day those things that are eternal are the things that truly matter. One thing I know that is eternal is relationships. Afterall, that's all we take with us when we leave this earth. Our relationship with our Creator and our relationship with one another.

For me, putting work aside for a time of one-on-one with my sons is much more rewarding than getting the job done right now. Staying up taking in a football game with my son is more satisfying than trying to get a few more work related tasks done before bed. Choosing to take a day to spend with my family each week while I could easily spend the day working, is life-giving. Taking an evening each week to go on a date with my wife is priceless. Hanging out with friends and family, building relationships and doing life together is more rewarding than sitting in front of the tube, or surfing the internet, or getting that last task done on my list.

What I'm trying to say is that in the end when those 789,000 hours have been spent, I want to make sure that the majority of them were spent on the things that truly matter. I know there are things that must be done. I know there are jobs that need our attention. I know there are only 24 hours in a day. But, I hope you'll agree that if we fail to do the truly important things on that to-do list, at the end of those 789,000 hours we'll face some pretty hefty regrets.

I am writing this because, for me, this week has been one that has been filled with way too many tasks. Yes, I've been trying to cram 2 weeks into one. In my attempt to get all the things done that I need to get done, there have been some important ones that have taken a back seat. Remember, I said I don't always get this thing right. Yesterday my oldest son kept asking me to play with him. When I say kept asking me, I mean he asked me alot. But, I had work to do. A lot of work to do. At least 48 hours of work to do yesterday. Finally, he found me exhausted sitting on the couch at the end of the day. He comes up to me and asks one last time, "Daddy, will you play with me?" Up the stairs I stumble to take him on in Madden Football. Thank God it wasn't real football, as I don't think I would have lasted 5 minutes. And thanks Mom, for letting us stay up a few minutes past bed time.

I did a lot yesterday, but the thing that I most remember is that moment when I'm driving for the game winning score and Peyton Manning throws a pick-6 with less than a minute to go. Yep, his Patriots beat my Colts. I just know that of all the to-do's on my list yesterday, that was number one. I know for him, he'll not remember anything else I did yesterday.

It's true I'm tired and it's true I have a lot to do today. But at some point, the list gets put on hold as I have some truly important things to attend to. And as you know, the clock is ticking and there are no time-outs.

Two Are Better Than One

"Two are better than one..." I read this phrase in Ecclesiastes this morning. The Scripture goes on to say "because they have a good reward for their labor. For if they fall, one will lift up his companion. But woe to him who is alone when he falls, for he has no one to help him up."

Now, I've got a couple hundred Facebook friends, but I'm thinking this is speaking of something much different than that. I was in a conversation with a friend a few weeks ago and we were talking about relationships with people. He referred to some of his acquaintances as more like Facebook friends. I can tell you from the context of our conversation he was implying that those friends were little more than superficial. No, I'm not dissing Facebook friends, just indicating that the level of friendship is quite different than those with whom we do life with. While those of us who do the Facebook thing may have an ever increasing list a "friends," the truth is those with whom we truly walk through life together with is generally a pretty small list. I would go so far as to say, that there are many who know lots of people yet walk through life very much alone.

We were never meant to go at this thing alone. God created us to walk through life with one another. After all, His purpose in sending His Son was to bring mankind back into relationship with Him. Scripture tells us, He has adopted us, He will not leave us as orphans, He sets the solitary in family, He will never leave us, etc. And while God longs for us to understand the dynamic of this relationship He longs for us to have with Him, He also longs for us to embrace this idea of walking through life with one another.

This concept is much more than posting what you are dealing with on Facebook and others replying with their well meant sentiments. Walking through life with one another is more than shallow comments like "I'm thinking of you," and "I'll be praying for you." Its about being willing to roll up your sleeves and walk through, (lets see how can I keep this g-rated) "refuse" with one another. Its about hurting, I mean truly hurting when others are hurting. I'm not talking about pity, but having compassion for one another that insists on helping one navigate through the hurt. Its about celebrating the victories with one another. Its about standing on the mountain tops with high fives, chest bumps, and genuine excitement over the triumphs in life. Its about strolling through the valleys with the commitment to remain there even when bolting is the easiest thing to do. Its about having the difficult conversations and speaking the truth even when the risk of offense is high. Its about remaining on board when everyone else has jumped ship. Its about fighting through wounds and offenses because the value of the relationship is worth more than walking away. Its about choosing to forgive even when the wound is huge. Its about seeing all the stuff nobody else can see and choosing to love in spite of it all. Its about seeing the gifts, talents, and potential in one another and challenging each other to rise up and be all you were created to be.

I'm sure you'll agree that this list is a pretty small list. Yep, superficial friends are great but these friends with whom we walk through life with, they are irreplaceable. It's these of whom this phrase was written..."Two are better than one." Are there some of these on your list? Or, better yet, are you on someone else's short list?

It Makes Me Appreciate And Value Life

Over the last couple of weeks, as I've watched the news, I've been taken back by what all has happened. Thousands of lives have been lost through tornadoes, cyclones, and earthquakes. Just think about it, people were going about their everyday lives when all of a sudden it was all over. It's pretty sobering to me. It makes me appreciate and value the life that I have. Let's face it, none of us have been promised tomorrow. I'm not trying to spread doom and gloom here, its just reality. Actually, death for a believer is hardly doom and gloom anyway. The point I'm trying to make is that this life we live is so temporal and in the grand scheme of things, even 70, 80, or 100 years is still quite short. Scripture says our life is but a vapor, here one day and gone the next.

Death for us is certain, unless we are of the generation here when Jesus takes us out of here. The truth is death could visit us today, tomorrow, next year, or it could be 10, 20, 50, or 70 years from now. But rest assured, it'll visit us. Ok, I know this is not my usual encouraging, inspiring BLOG, but stay with me.

Life on this earth is precious, but in comparison to eternity it is extremely short. What we do in that short amount of time is extremely important though. When I hear news like I've heard the last couple of weeks, it makes me think about what I'm doing with my life. It's not a condemning thing, just a gut check. It makes me ask the question, "how engaged am I with my family?" It makes me want to spend quality time with those I love most. It makes me want to put the things that need to be on the back burner on the back burner and put the things that need to be in the forefront in the forefront. It makes me want to play air guitar with my kids even when I've got a list a mile long of the things I need to do. It makes me want to spend time with my wife, and cherish each moment we have together. It causes me to evaluate the things I value and why I value them.

Years ago, my grandmother who was well advanced in years knew that death was getting closer with every passing day. She was a feisty lady and was never shy when it came to speaking her mind. Of course, that often led to her not having the greatest relationships with others, including some of her kids. From time to time she would get to thinking that she would hate to die and not have a clear conscience so she would get on the phone and start calling people. She would call one person after another asking them to forgive her if she in anyway had offended them. I just wonder how our lives would be different if we would not wait until we are in our 80s or 90s before we did something like that.

The truth is that a moment wasted can never be recaptured. We need to make it a point to say the things we so often wait too long to say. We need to forgive those who we often wait too long to forgive. We need to spend more time with those most important to us, and we need to love as if there's no tomorrow.

Of course, the most important thing is not to fall too much in love with this world here. When all is said and done, the stuff here will be gone and the only thing we take out of here is our relationship with our Creator and our relationship with one another. That's it. Nothing more , nothing less. If we travel through this life trying to capture as much stuff as we possibly can, in the end we will be grossly disappointed. I'm not saying that having stuff is bad, just that if it becomes our main pursuit in life, we will realize in the end how worthless that pursuit truly was.

I am convinced that loving God and loving others is the only pursuits in life that are the only things that are truly rewarding. Perhaps its just me, but I just believe that if I'll focus on that, when death comes knocking, I'll have no regrets and can welcome it with open arms. Of course, I'm talking in about 60 years or so.