If you had just one more day....

I used to start each day while it was still dark but lately, the faintest glow of dawn is edging over the horizon as I make that first cup of coffee. It won’t be long before we will be altering our clocks for daylight savings. It always reminds me of the reader who complained to the newspaper, ‘That extra hour of sunlight will fade my curtains!”

Time is an intriguing subject, and so slippery. On some occasions, like holidays, it just slips by but when you are waiting or looking forward to an important date and want it to zip by, it drags. Also.. some of us can stay longer in an hour than others can in a week. And have you noticed how quickly deadlines arrive?

  Robert D. Smith once titled an article he’d written, 'Everyone who reads this post will die.' It certainly grabs your attention and although it's true, perhaps it might discourage you from reading. The point of his article, though, was to encourage his readers to re-evaluate their use of their time and see whether there may be ways to add purpose and meaning to daily activities.

There’s a Youtube clip that I’d like to share with you titled, ‘The time you have.. in jellybeans’. Take a look at the clip below- it portrays your life as a counted heap of jellybeans. It’s amazing, and a little sobering to see the pile of jellybeans disappearing in often meaningless activities.

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For example, did you know that:
* We spend nearly 5 times more days watching TV than caring for friends and family
* We spend only slightly more time investing in our communities and churches than we do grooming ourselves.
* We spend over 23 years of our lives (after the age of 15) asleep.
(Who spends time working out all those statistics?)

'Help us to number our days that we may apply our hearts unto wisdom.' Psalm 90:12

The Bible encourages us to examine our use of the time allotted to each of us. Everyone complains that they have no time.. no time to help in ministry.. no time to connect with others … no time to read more or learn more. We all have the same number of minutes and hours in a day. But perhaps there are ways that we can plan our time for greater impact. 

What if I watch half as much TV- I would have another 1338 days. Maybe I could use my time more wisely by listening to podcasts and audio books while travelling. I could enjoy more of my meals with others and create memorable experiences with family, and build connection and community with others. I can spend time developing teams and leaders to share the load of ministry rather than doing everything myself.
How can you alter your day and your activities for greater impact?

If you had just one more day, how would you spend it?

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