We are in a "What Not to Wear" series at LifePoint and this last Sunday we talked about "Clashing Colors" and being too busy. I probably need to hear this message every week since I seem to always find myself in the same place - doing & focusing on a lot of "stuff" and not "being" in the current moment focusing on who and what is going on.
The biggest bonus of being a teacher is having summers off. This is WONDERFUL but for someone like me (routine-oriented, slightly OCD about things), going from basically no job to a full-time job is very difficult. I end up feeling very overwhelmed & busy...and I don't even have to grade papers!! (also my excuse for not blogging more often) This message was pretty much a slap in the face for me to wake up! I wish I could say I've already made all the changes needed....but I can't...but I can say I'm working on it...here are my notes below:
"What would it look like if we still accomplished good things in a less stressful environment?"
That question has stuck with me all week! It would look AMAZING! I'm not sure yet how I get to that point...but I'm working on it by trying to create margin in my life.
Margin is the space between your load and your limit. If you will have a meltdown if someone asks you to do one more thing...you have no margin. Having no margin is cheating God and every relationship around you. If you have no time & you aren't getting any rest...you are not being the person God created you to be. It stresses every relationship you have. You end up accomplishing less by trying to do more.
Think about your garage..or that one drawer. It is always working towards disorder. You have to be intentional at keeping it in order. Your life works just like this...you HAVE to be intentional at keeping it in order.
Benefits of margin:
1 - Peace of Mind
2 - Better Health
3 - Stronger Relationships
4 - Available for God to Use You
We constantly add, add, add and never take anything away. You have to cut a bush back to get it to flourish. We are the same way. We have to say no (even to some stuff we like) so we can cut the "stuff" in our lives back so that we can flourish.
So...what are you going to do to create margin in your life? Please feel free to leave any tips!! :)
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3 comments:
Wow, that is a slap in the face. Great message
Very relevant. I recently read Texas Monthly's cover article on Mike Leach. In this article, they note that Leach limits the number of plays he teaches the players. If he adds any plays, he then removes one. This has the effect of allowing the players to focus more intently by offering a less complex play book and ultimately know those fewer plays backward/forward. I think the metaphor speaks for itself.
Great summary of Sunday's message. I love your thought on this being a slap in the face. It fits perfectly.
Before moving to the Glen-Ed area, we were highly involved in a church similar to LP. Met at a theater. I played in the band, Michele helped with childcare, we both helped with setup & teardown. It was good stuff, but it consumed our weekends and half our week.
Since coming here, our major cutback has honestly been church involvement. Not sure that's a good thing necessarily. Our number of meaningful friendships is also at an all-time low.
We also have 2 small kids now, and they consume more time than you ever knew you had. Not that we're complaining - we love them!
But that gets to the heart of it. Cutting back to create margin is rarely an easy decision. Most of the time it requires sacrificing something meaningful.
For us, it's meant giving up involvement at church so we can focus more on our kids. Yet I'm sad at the friendships we're missing out on within LP. Finding balance has been tough.
Singer/songwriter Eric Peters has a song that says, "If the answers are easy, then my questions must be wrong." I find comfort in that line - knowing that we're on the right track when we hit something like this that has no easy answer.
I enjoy your blog. Thanks for helping me think through all this again, even if I have no easy answers!
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