Just Thinking... " Gotta Make Time for This"

3/9/2015

There is a lot going on. I cannot remember when life was so full. This is not meant as a complaint but simply as an observation.

A full life may mean that much for the Kingdom is being accomplished or at least attempted.

When a fantastic mission trip is completed, it is not completed. There is a period of review to consider what was done well and what could have been done better. Evaluation is always a healthy tool in order that any future mission trips might meet the real needs of the people we are blessed to serve with in Portugal. "Gotta make time for that."

The "first look" at appointments is always a humbling week as we begin to pray and consider the needs of all the clergy and all the churches. There is a sense of awe as we hear the stories of success and a sense of pain as we learn of the struggles; such awe and pain drive us to our knees to seek the guidance of the Holy Spirit. When I get home I need to make calls and follow up with ideas. Now a great amount of energy will be spent going over and over the Master List and seeking guidance and light. "Gotta make time for that."

I'm realizing how crazy I must be to be enrolled in this DMin program. There is an abundance of great reading about community health, community assets, communities thinking theologically and then mapping it all and preparing for presentations. Deadlines and discussions rule the semester. It takes me a great amount of concentration to keep my mind on the readings and then to create scholarly papers. "Gotta make time for that."

Katie has two more months of her senior year. There is so much going on in her life as she prepares for graduation and a summer ministry at Camp Glisson and then college at North Georgia. Listing to her stories, supporting her events, remembering to be a crazy dad and enjoy moments with her and offering that fatherly wisdom is huge. Sally and I are blessed beyond measure by her spirit and spunk. "Gotta make time for that."

I remember praying for God to bless my life with a great friend who would understand my craziness. God sent me a true friend in Dale Smith, and it is a joy to spend quality time with him just being me. "Gotta make time for that."

And then we lose an hour with this Daylight Savings Time idea ... that is no help at all. But at that same moment God's voice moves through the full life and little time and reminds me of this thought through the words of Sarah Young for March 10:

"You are mine for all time - and beyond time, into eternity. No power can deny you your inheritance in heaven. I want you to realize how utterly secure you are! Even if you falter as you journey through life, I will never let go of your hand."

"Knowing that your future is absolutely assured can free you to live abundantly today. I have prepared this day for you with the most tender concern and attention to detail. Instead of approaching the day as a blank page that you need to fill up, try living it in responsive mode: being on the lookout for all that I am doing. This sounds easy, but it requires a deep level of trust based on the knowledge that My way is perfect."

This Lent I need to first make time for the One who has me all the time. I truly believe if I do that the full life will be manageable in ways I never knew possible.

Gotta make time for God, my friends,

Dana