Skip to main content

“Individuals who do well in life tend to be accountable to time.”

A thought by John Townsend from his book, People Fuel (p. 65). Zondervan. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.)

And we all have the same amount of time each day, don’t we?

John continues the thought, “They are aware of it and of how little we have in life, so they order their days so as to make the most of them. ‘Teach us to number our days, that we may gain a heart of wisdom’ (Ps. 90:12).

“One of the most important uses of this prioritizing is to utilize time as the oven of growth. In this oven, various aspects of grace and truth are heated up, mixed, and melded. The outcome is a dish that is superior to the original, uncooked ingredients.

“Growth and change—real and substantive change—tends to take longer than we anticipate. We are an impatient species, and we much prefer a microwave oven approach. But if we allow God’s process to work, growth happens in its correct season.”

John goes on, “You will also find that at different seasons in your growth, you will require more of one ingredient than another. Suppose you want to go to the next level in your career and make the move you have been needing to make—let’s say, to start your own small business. The first thing you will probably do is dive into the information and do tons of research, scouring books, journals, and websites. At this point, truth is the focus, because you don’t even know what you don’t know. It’s just due diligence. But at the juncture where you now know what you don’t know, you could also notice that you need support around you: people to encourage you, keep you motivated, and keep you on track. That will involve adding grace in the form of the right relationships to help you continue along the path.

“Success is built around experiencing the right amounts and the right kinds of grace and truth over the right amount of time. Some combination of these three is almost always the answer to solving a problem or creating an opportunity. And it is our responsibility to figure that part out, for our own challenges, goals, and dreams.

Yes, dealing with time is such an important tool in our growth and success, isn’t it?

Yes, Yes!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

"Lie 2: The more you worry about it, the better your odds of avoiding it."

A thought by Louie Giglio in his book,   Winning the War on Worry    (p. 5). Thomas Nelson. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon to buy the book.) Here is another lie that the Enemy uses with us. And Louie says, "This is a tricky lie. Yes, we often have cause for concern and preparation. But the Enemy wants you to believe that if you worry or fret over a certain outcome long enough, you can keep something bad from happening." But this is so important to realize. He says, "The reality is worrying has never once prevented something negative from happening. Planning might. Prayer has. But worry never will." He continues, "The Enemy tells you that by worrying about a situation (or every situation) you can make your tomorrow better. Really, worry just robs you of today. Jesus implored us: 'I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body mor...
Post a Comment
Read more

“We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives.”

A thought by Jon Tyson from his book, The Burden Is Light: Liberating Your Life from the Tyranny of Performance and Success (p. 118). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) But is that all that is important? Jon says, “We want to realize an immediate return from whatever we invest in. I am prone to this way of thinking in so many areas of my life. ‘I paid a lot for that meal, yet the portions were not that big.’ ‘I invested two hours in that movie, and it was just okay.’   ‘I went to church, but the sermon wasn’t that profound.’ We believe it’s important to derive value from everything in our lives. But beauty doesn’t fit within that framework. When Mary anointed Jesus with oil, there was an immediate outcry against her extravagant generosity. ‘It could have been sold for more than a year’s wages and the money given to the poor.’ (Mark 14:5) One gospel depicts the disciples crying, ‘Why this waste?...
Post a Comment
Read more

“Hurry and love are incompatible.”

A thought by John Mark Comer from his book, The Ruthless Elimination of Hurry (p. 23). The Crown Publishing Group. Kindle Edition. (Click on the book title to go to Amazon.com to buy the book.) Wow, pretty strong thought isn’t it? John says, “All my worst moments as a father, a husband, and a pastor, even as a human being, are when I’m in a hurry—late for an appointment, behind on my unrealistic to-do list, trying to cram too much into my day. I ooze anger, tension, a critical nagging—the antitheses of love. If you don’t believe me, next time you’re trying to get your type B wife and three young, easily distracted children out of the house and you’re running late (a subject on which I have a wealth of experience), just pay attention to how you relate to them. Does it look and feel like love? Or is it far more in the vein of agitation, anger, a biting comment, a rough glare? Hurry and love are oil and water: they simply do not mix.” He goes on, “Hence, in the apostle P...
Post a Comment
Read more