The one-week challenge

Something has really been irritating me lately. Actually, it's been an irritation for quite some time now, but it has resurfaced again in the last month or so.

Time. Rather, the lack of time. (How appropriate, since we lose an hour of sleep tonight!)

We are always so busy, busy, busy. Our busyness has actually become somewhat of a status symbol. The busier we are, the more important we become--at least in our own eyes. Telephone conversations--or most likely, email conversations--typically go something like this:

"Hi! How are you?"
"I'm fine. How are you?"
"Fine. What are you up to"
"Oh, I've done X, Y, and Z today and have A, B, C, D, and E to do tomorrow. What about you?"

Sound familiar?

I had a friend at ORU who would challenge others to memorize Scripture. And if you passed her in the dorm or on the way to class, it was nothing for her to ask you what you were learning in the Word. This was just 15 years ago! How have we become such a self-absorbed people that we define ourselves now more by what we do than what we are learning?

I think I have an answer to that. It's an answer that most people will hate.

Technology.

Oh, sure, technology is a blessing. But if you were to honestly evaluate your life and, more specifically, your walk with the Lord, would you say that technology is a blessing or a hindrance to your walk with God? I would have to say that in my own life, technology is more of a hindrance than a blessing. I have trouble finding time to sit down and open my Bible each day, yet I don't have any trouble watching a show on HGTV, checking my email, getting on Facebook, downloading music and podcasts to my iPod, talking on my cell phone, sending text messages, looking up recipes... You get the picture. If I were to cut out one, some, or--gasp!--all of those things, how much more time would I have?

As if my own walk with the Lord weren't important enough, I also have to sit back and ask myself this question: What kind of example am I setting for my children? Am I teaching them to be busy and to place more importance of "things" than on their relationship with God? Sure, we have devotional time together in the mornings... but what about during the day? How often do they see me with my Bible open or hear me in prayer? When I think back to my own childhood, these are some of the things I remember most about my own mom. It was nothing out of the ordinary to see her with her Bible open at various times during the day, or to walk into a room and then find yourself quickly backing out because mom was praying and you didn't want to interrupt.

I want to challenge you to do something. For one week, and one week only, unplug yourself from one piece of technology for a short time each day. It doesn't matter if it is the television, if you let your calls roll to voicemail, if you turn off the iPod, or if you don't check email. But for one week, the challenge is to unplug yourself from technology and then use that time to "plug in" to God. Use that time for prayer, for reading the Bible, for worship... just make yourself a little less busy so that you do have time for God. Then come back at the end of the week and share how this challenge affected you and your family.

Let's teach our children to put more importance on the Word of God than on "things." And let's start this week!

What will God do with you in 2009?

I've got to admit that I've never been a New Year's resolution kind of person. Never. But this year, I'm taking a little different approach.

In my last post, I mentioned goals. Yes, I do have a few goals for this year. My first goal is to run a race. I have never in my life participated in a race, but that is something that I want to do this year. I actually have a particular race in mind, and as the time for that race approaches I'll give more information about it. Believe it or not, this crazy idea that I--Megan--can run a race came up before Christmas. I go to the gym in the early mornings, before everyone else in our home gets up for the day, and have used that time--especially the travel time to and from the gym--for prayer and fellowship with God. It's the quietest part of my day, the time of day when there is no one else and nothing else to distract me, so I use this time for fellowship with my Father. It was during one of those early morning prayer times that the idea of a race came up. During prayer, the particular race was given to me...when I looked it up on the Internet, I was surprised to find that it is a longer race than I anticipated! Boy, is there ever some work ahead! I don't think I ever ran an entire Field Test at ORU... and this is twice the distance!

Another personal goal is to become more organized in different areas of my life. So, my first step in organization may seem really basic to a lot of others, but it is essential: I need to make a schedule of things to do each day of the week. I'm not talking about preschool field trips and doctor's appointments and hair cuts. I'm talking about household chores. Oh, they get done now, but with a lot of disorganization and stress. I'll get started with the dishes and the dryer will stop, so I'll take the clothes out of the dryer and put another load in to dry, take the dry clothes into the living room to fold them, see that there are toys that need to be picked up and put away, and then remember that the upstairs bathroom garbage needs to be emptied.... when I finally make it back to the kitchen, I see a sink full of lukewarm, soapy water and dirty dishes on the counter and wonder how I ever got that far off track. So, the daily "to do" list is being formed--a realistic list of things that can be done on a given day, not a supermom list of cleaning, laundry, and a gourmet, five-course meal for dinner.

The Lord has really been speaking to me during the last several months about getting the stress out of my life. I want my children to remember their growing up years as a fun time, not a stressful time. We do have a lot of fun--even more so now that some stress has already been eliminated--but there are still the moments of self-induced stress that really could be avoided if there were more organization.

My husband and I have prayed about our children's education and really believe that we are to embark on the grand adventure of home schooling. So, I have spent some time during the last several months exploring options and learning about the laws surrounding home schooling in our state. There is so much more to learn! Our sweet Abby will be five on her birthday in a few months, so Kindergarten is right around the corner. So, I guess you could say that one of our family "goals" is to start the home schooling process. We are excited to take this next step with her!

I don't have goals, per se, set in stone for 2009. But I do seek God daily for His agenda for my day. Some days--like today--it's as simple as sitting at the kitchen table and playing several hands of "Go Fish" with Abby or letting Hayden "help" while I sweep the kitchen floor. Other days, the agenda is to make a phone call or write a note to someone.

What will God do with you in 2009? Have you dared to ask Him?

Before you step away from your computer, I want to invite you to read a college friend's blog on this very thing. Take a look at Glenn's blog post entitled "Why Resolutions Miss the Mark." Let what Glenn shares challenge your thinking. And then take this challenge: Step into your prayer closet and ask God what He wants for you in 2009. Too much for you to start with? Then ask Him what He has on the agenda for you today. Then do your part and follow through with His plan for your day, your week, your month, your year. At the end of 2009, you will be able to look back and see all that God has done with you, in you, and through you because you dared to ask Him what He had planned for you. When we stop putting our own goals and desires first and move God to that number one spot, we will find out that life will be much richer and much more fulfilling than we ever dreamed it could be.