Busy Like a 7-Page Page

We wear busyness as a badge of honor! "Oh! I'm so busy" is usually said as a way to tout our unseen significance trophy we carry around with us everywhere. It is as if the more busier we are, the more important we are!

I disagree.

In fact, if we are so busy that we have no time to rest at all, this is a sign that we are living a less than human life. Think about it. God worked. God rested. And God created us in His image. So...we too are able to reflect God's character when we work and when we rest. To exclude one or the other would be living a life less than God's plan for humanity, to live less than human.

With that in mind, I created a video meant to highlight the absurdity of our busyness. I run around trying to fit so much stuff into the same amount of time, as if I can actually do everything! I do this too much and I am ready to stop it!

This insanity is like trying to fit a 7-page Pre-Course writing assignment I wrote for one of my Doctorate of Ministry classes onto one page! Thus, we are busy like a 7-page page. I hope you enjoy my silliness.

A Small Prayer

At the end of this semester, Father, allow us the opportunity to see your kingdom in our small, seemingly insignificant actions. Nourish our spirits enough to reach the depths of your love in offering a smile. Help us to imagine and discern new possibilities for living fully alive as we give away our attention. Provide us relief, Lord, from our constant conformity to busyness. And strengthen us as you transform our lives according to your business. We trust you with every small, yeast-like, kingdom-oriented action. Amen.

Weeks and Days

I look back and see a string of activities stretching back to the beginning of the semester. It just all runs together. Discipleship meetings to class prep to website to coming home to dinner to baths to bed to another day filled with stuff. It all runs together.

Here are some questions at the forefront of my mind:

• Does my time bring glory to God?
• Is there enough space in the margins of my life?
• How can God work on me when I am so busy working on others?

I seriously don't know what needs to go, but something needs to go. I look really busy; I feel really busy; I don't know how to become un-busy.

Lord, are you close? There are moments that I see and feel your presence. You give me words to say to others and speak to me when I am silent. But my desire to be closer to you draws me to look at my schedule. Show me what needs to give a little? Do I need to finish the semester like this? Are you teaching me how quick life vanishes? Give me insight into your heart. I desire to know you more...even in your sufferings. In the character of Jesus. Amen.

My Plate

So...it took me eleven days to write anything in 2008. I have enjoyed the break from the normal routine. I got to enjoy platefuls of food with family and friends. This year I didn't eat as much as I have in the past! Even during Thanksgiving I think I only got one full plate and then snacked a little later on. Christmas was the same. This year was not the year where I couldn't fit something else on my plate if I tried.

I wish I actually had some sort of schedule plate to put things on so I would know that I cannot do anything else.

On Wednesday night I realized how much is going on right now, how much I have on my plate. I am training an LST team (maybe two at the same time); teaching Wednesday night class, Thursday devo, and Sunday class; creating the curriculum for our small groups each week; developing and meeting with a leadership team of students; leading a women's weekly small discipleship group; spending time being available for prayer on campus; leading a church small group discussion starting in February; preaching at least once a month; going through premarital counseling with one of our students; going through marital counseling with a couple at church; maintaining the church website and the campus ministry website; staying on top of two service assignments each month; raising funds for our LST trip this summer; spending better time with Tanya, Kayla, and Tyler; and trying to fit in hanging out with students when the opportunity comes.

I'm not sure if there is any more room on my plate...even for any garnish. I'm not sure what to do about all this just yet. I wait to see how things go.

Lord, help me to stay focused. Give me your energy. I cannot do this alone. May your presence sustain me.

Technological Suffocation

My laptop broke down about two weeks ago. Well, I could still work on it. I just had to hold the back left part of it up about two inches. Very annoying. I ended up sending it to HP to have them replace the system board. I finally got it back two days ago.

During the about 10 days that it was gone, I went through what I call a computer fast. (In reality it wasn't a true computer fast. I still used another computer, but it wasn't my laptop with all my files on it.) All my lessons were prepared on paper! Can you believe that!? I can't.

Oddly enough, the lessons that I prepared dealt with simplicity, Jacob's faith, my own faith, and solitude. It is strange that this happened to be the week I thought about simplicity! It is strange that God chose this time to remind me of how he worked so powerfully in my life in the past! It is strange that solitude of heart and soul is something I seek more and more throughout my day.

Yesterday was the first day back in my office with the computer. If you want to talk about how busy I felt, here you go. I was drained after the first two hours of my day! I had several studies going on, but I could hardly concentrate because I was tired. Tired from being up late on my computer the night before. I had all kinds of emails to respond to, people to put on our church email list, and files to update on my computer.

About midday I realized that my computer seemed to tbe the culprit. I felt busy because of all this technology. There might be something there in preparing lessons without the computer. There might be something there in restricting the time I use the computer. There might be something there to really seek God rather than busying myself with computer stuff.

Right now I have my Yahoo mail up, my Facebook account opened, and notepad stuff for my blog. Before writing this, I had Dreamweaver open. I will throughout the day probably have 5-7 different computer applications open because I need to go from one thing to the next and back.

Some food for thought from a computer guy: let's intentionally detach ourselves from the busy-ness of trying to do so many things at once. What would happen if we put aside our computer for even 4 hours of our day? Perhaps I can intentionally do this in an effort to help God speak to me. Am I listening?