Time Management

"Manage Your Time, Manage Your Life"

Tuesday, 29 March 2016

'Walk in wisdom... redeeming the time.' Colossians 4:5 NKJV

One of your greatest possessions—is your next twenty-four hours. How will you spend them?  Will you allow television, pointless emails, unimportant tasks, your own impulses, the wrong people or other meaningless distractions to consume your day?  Or will you take control of your time and make today count?  Leadership experts say that focusing on the top 20 per cent of your priorities brings an 80 per cent return on your effort. So when you get up each morning, look in the mirror and say, ‘Today I’ll live my life according to God’s will, and give my energies to the things that help me fulfil it’.  The truth is, there’ll always be things vying for your attention. Advertisers want you to spend money on their products ... And have you noticed how people with nothing to do, usually want to spend their time with you?  Even your own desires can be so diverse and your focus so scattered that you aren’t sure what needs your attention first. That’s why you need to focus like a laser on your God-given purpose. Whatever you concentrate on, you give strength and momentum to. Your priorities determine how you spend your time, so set them prayerfully and maintain them carefully. Eliminate non-essentials. Those who tell you, ‘You can have it all’ are misguided. You can’t do everything you want to do, but you can do everything God wants you to do. You’ve got to choose! Success comes from doing the right things right, and letting the rest go. If you’re not sure what the right things are for you, imagine yourself looking back on your life years from now— which things would you regret not doing?

Developing Your Strengths

"Minor and Major Gifts"

Thursday, 24 March 2016

'God has given us different gifts for doing certain things well.' Romans 12:6 NLT

To excel at anything, you must discover your major gifts and put them to work. One of Paul’s minor gifts was making tents to help support his ministry, but clearly his major gift was teaching and building churches. You say, ‘How can I discover my major gifts?’ 

(1) Get God’s input. Who knows the product better than the manufacturer?  You didn’t create yourself, so there’s no way you can tell yourself what you were created for.  But God can, and He will. ‘If you need wisdom, ask our generous God, and He will give it to you … But when you ask Him, be sure that your faith is in God alone.  Do not waver ...’ (James 1:5–6 NLT)

 

(2) Commit for the long haul. When you were first learning to walk you spent more time on your bottom than on your feet.  But you succeeded. That’s because you were born to walk!  You may discover your major gifts quickly and easily, but developing them to their maximum potential will be the work of a lifetime. It’s not a sprint, it’s a marathon. 

(3) Get feedback from the right people. Asking others for feedback isn’t always easy, but it’s essential to success. Never be too proud to seek help.  And if you’re a ‘loner’ here’s a Scripture you need to ponder:  ‘There was no deliverer, because it was far from Sidon, and they had no ties with anyone’ (Judges 18:28 NKJV).  A word of caution, however:  Choose people who have no agenda other than to help you.