Time Management

Something the Lord has continuously been teaching me about and convicting me of is how I manage the time He has given me. I already had half a post written and saved in my drafts when I stumbled across this and this yesterday. Coincidence? I think not.

Arriving in a new country means I don't have an overwhelming amount of friends or activities to distract me. But there's still unlimited internet. And a television. And all sorts of good books I could read on my kindle. And waaaaay too many photographs to spend hours editing. Trust me, distractions are endless.

But as soon as I arrived I knew that there were only certain things I should spend my time on. Instead of having a list of things to avoid, I had a list of things allowed: Reading about France, reading books God has laid on my heart, spending time in the Word and prayer, spending time learning French, and the occasional blog reading, email responding, facebooking sprints. Amazingly, time flies by really fast even when my activities are limited to the list above. And even my 'things allowed' list isn't completely fail proof, for it would be easy for me to spend a little too much time reading blogs (my greatest temptation as of late) and much too little time seeking Him.

When it comes down to it, the only right way for me to manage my time is for me to moment by moment seek Him and live for Him. When I ask Him what I should do next, He never fails to give me the answer. I must always be seeking, always asking, always looking to Him for guidance and leadership and answers, and He will always give them.

There were some instances when I felt that it was silly for me to limit myself so much. I didn't see other Christians being so careful about their time! But that's when He reminded me that sometimes others can, and I cannot. As long as I keep my gaze on Him, and not on someone else, or myself... it works flawlessly. Every time.

I am definitely not the picture of perfect time management still, because I often forget to look at Him. But He's teaching me. You wouldn't believe what a kind, gentle, patient teacher He is too!

Speaking of good ways to spend your time... The Set Apart Girl November/December issue just came out. Read it, I'm sure He'll teach you something through it.