{Minute Meditation} Water Balloons at Work?

She has done what she could (Mark 14:8). A friend of mine pointed out this verse a few months ago, and I have embraced it as my own ever since. I tend to get busy with life and then find myself disappointed because my to-do list sits half checked off. I pine over the things I wanted to do but couldn't squeeze in as life threw water balloons at my work party. I wish time could extend or I could warp back in time and do things differently.

What on your to-do list has been pushed aside or left undone this winter? Have things slowed down for you, too? Do you find yourself moving through this season at a turtle's pace?

Here are some water balloons that have come my way:

My good intention of starting a new blog in 2014. God redirected my attentions and reminded me I already have a platform for that particular ministry. It's called Inspire a Fire. So now I have to refocus my thoughts and schedule myself to post on a site I already run.

Moving. Yes, you heard me. Moving. Again. This will be the third time within a twelve-month period. Which has put a wrench in a lot of things. Not stopping them. Just slowing them down a bit. Because now I have to pack again. And take a few days off to make the move again. And then unpack again. Thankfully I've mastered the art of spacial concepts. I am now a super packer. (And a super thrower awayer.)

Sickness. That nasty flu bug fell in love with me this week. Although I want to break up with the flu, it's nasty mucus is clinging for dear life. All but one of my children has had at least a mild amount of symptoms. Some more than others. Thankfully, it's on its way out.

Plans change all the time. God is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The question remains: how do we handle the water balloons? Do we dive for cover and pray they don't drench us? Do we stand firm and allow them to water us? Do we fall to our knees as they break against us? Or do we allow God to guide us to safety?

Maybe the water balloon of an interruption to life is actually God trying to get through. Like with my website plans. Maybe it's a road that will bring us closer to a dream fulfilled, like this next move (which is bringing me closer to my writing core of friends). Maybe it's a call to rest and soak in His Word, like an illness.

Whatever your water balloon is today, take a moment to stop and consider if God could be in the midst of it.

Focusing on What I Do Well

One of the things that I am finding as I begin to make the necessary changes in my life is that I am in desperate need of prioritizing. And one of the things that I am learning about prioritizing is how to focus in.

I am currently reading "How Successful People Think" by John C. Maxwell. I love this book! Maxwell says to use the 80/20 rule. "Give 80 percent of your effort to the top 20 percent (most important) activities." He explains that people should focus on their strengths, those things that make best use of your skills and God-given talents (p.14). In other words, I need to quit wasting my time on things that won't bring fruit to my life, my walk with God and what He has called me to do, or my family. Stop playing games on Facebook for two hours a day and apply those two hours to my creative process time!

Another of my favorite authors is Joyce Meyers. I read her book "The Confident Woman" a couple of years ago. What stuck with me after finishing her book was a point that she made that is very, very similar to what John Maxwell said in his book. She basically says to stop focusing on trying to improve the thing that you're not very good at and to apply that effort to making what you are really good at exceptional. For example, I am alright at dancing, but I am great at writing. So, instead of spending my time, effort, and energy at improving dancing, which I may be 15% good at, I should spend that time, effort, and energy at taking my writing from 85% to 100%. I absolutely loved this simple paradigm shift, and it has stuck with me since I read it!

So, as my first step in prioritizing my time and my life, I am focusing in on the areas that God has gifted me with skill and talent. I am going to stop playing games and spend that time with family or writing or crafting. I am going to stop trying to improve the areas that aren't priorities in my life or my abilities, and I am going to start further improving the areas that I am talented in.

I always think about the parable of the talents when I consider what God has given me to work with. The three people that God chose to give his talents to had choices to make. Would they invest those talents and increase in them, or would they choose as the third man chose, and bury it for fear of what would happen if they tried to do something with it. I think that third guy had low self-esteem and a total lack of confidence in himself and in God. I don't want to be like him. I want to be like the other two and take some chances in the hopes that God will be glorified in the end. I want to use my talents to bless His people and His kingdom. I want to hear that I did well when it comes down to it. I am going to refuse to live in fear of what will happen along the way as I step out and put my faith into action. (See Matthew 25:14-30)

I am currently working from home as a "professional blogger" in order to pay off my past college loans. At the same time, I am focusing on keeping my own blogs current, writing to them at least once every other day. I am applying for scholarship funds to finish the writing/communications degree that I started fresh out of high school and never earned (even though I've paid so much toward it). I want to know that I know what I am doing as I pursue a career in that talent God has gifted me with. I don't want to do this half-way. God never gets the glory when we only go half-way. I want God to get the glory! It's time to focus in!