Your one- word commitment

Bill Hybels builds on his discussion of drafting a new proactive, holistic schedule in Chapter 2 of Simplify by stating you must begin with the right question.  That question needs to reflect your most important life goals.  Pastor Hybels emphasizes being intentional- not just thinking, but doing:

“Anyone can change direction in life, add or subtract priorities and activities, or reshuffle the matrix to put priorities in a better order.  That’s the transformative power of a schedule.”

There is the power of even a single word that’s written on your schedule and lived out.  American novelist John Grisham was an unhappy attorney who wanted to become an author.  He started by writing a one- word commitment to himself on the early-morning squares of his monthly calendar: “Write.”  He began by coming to work one hour early and writing one page per day.

Pastor Hybels encourages you that a one- word commitment on a calendar can change your life.  To do so, you should analyze and list the parts of your life in need of a do-over or makeover.  By using the calendar as a holistic tool for every area of your life, you can be certain your calendar is centered on things that matter to you.

Next, the author examines places in our lives that could benefit from holistic scheduling.

Today’s question: What is your one- word commitment?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Chair time with God”

Your one- word commitment

The undisputed boss

“Be very careful, then, how you live- not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity.”- Ephesians 5:15-16

“My schedule is far less about what I want to get done and far more about who I become.”- Bill Hybels

Several years after Bill Hybels became a Christian at the age of seventeen, an older gentleman from his church began mentoring him.  One day, near the end of lunch, the gentleman asked Bill: “How would you spend your time if God were in charge of it?”  With that the older man paid for the meal and left.

The question stirred something in Bill’s heart.  Up to that point, Bill admits, he had been “the undisputed boss” of his time.  Ever since that day, however, that question continues to inspire a lifelong discipline for Bill.  Every day he asks himself: How would God have me spend my time today?

In order to stay spiritually centered, in tune with God’s whispers and able to listen to His guidance throughout the day, Pastor Hybels advises protecting those quiet, peaceful, and uninterrupted beginning hours to our day- surrendering them to God.  The author concludes that in rewriting our schedules, we’ll be making choices carrying far greater implications than we imagine:

“I’m of the opinion that the thoughtful arrangement of your daily and weekly calendar is one of the holiest endeavors you can undertake.”

Today’s question: How would you spend your time if God were in charge of it?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Your one-word commitment”

The undisputed boss

Lessons from a burrowing owl

“Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.  Are you not of more value than they?”- Matthew 6:26

“It may be hard for an egg to turn into a bird; it would be a jolly sight harder for it to learn to fly while remaining an egg.  We are like eggs at present.  And you cannot go on indefinitely being just an ordinary, decent egg.  We must be hatched or go bad.”- C. S. Lewis

My cousin Pat and her husband Ted live in Cape Coral, FL.  Approximately two blocks from their condo there is a protected, open and treeless field- home to a family of burrowing owls.  Burrowing owls have long legs, a brown body with white speckles, and no ear tufts.  They stand about 9.5″ tall, have a 21″ wingspan, and weigh 5 ounces.

Burrowing owls may dig their own nest or utilize abandoned burrows of prairie dogs or gophers.  To catch prey they can hover over fields or run along the ground.  Owlets scare away predators by hiding in their burrows and mimicking the sounds of a rattlesnake.

We can learn life-transforming lessons from a burrowing owl.  In the song “Your Words” by Third Day, we hear the following: “Let me hear Your words above all the other voices, above all the distractions in this world.”  Those other voices, even our self-talk, may condemn us to feelings of worthlessness and insignificance following our vocation loss.  As C. S. Lewis (The Great Divorce) writes, ultimately each of us will adopt one of two postures before God, joyful surrender or defiant separation:

“There are only two kinds of people in the end: those who say to God ‘Thy will be done’ and those to whom God says, in the end, ‘Thy will be done.’ . . . No soul that seriously and constantly desires joy will ever miss it.  Those who seek find.  To those who knock it is opened.”

God created and provides unique hunting techniques and protection for burrowing owls.  Through the Holy Spirit’s power, our joyful surrender roots our identity as sons and daughters of God.  God is “lifting up His countenance” (Numbers 6:26) upon us.  He is letting us know that He’s fully present and giving Himself to us.  Third Day sings:

“Everything else will fade away, but what will remain are your words.”

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=byFfWfUOnVg

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lessons from a burrowing owl

Outward activities and inner priorities

In Chapter 2 (“From Overscheduled to Organized: Harnessing Your Calendar’s Power”) of Simplify, Bill Hybels begins with the wry observation that “our schedules are packed so tight, we couldn’t slip a razor blade between appointments.”  Our busyness easily becomes a source of pride, feeding our sense of importance.  But this pride nourishes something unhealthy in us, and the cost is severe.  Pastor Hybels cautions:

“A runaway calendar . . . holds you hostage to tangible things- meeting, appointments, and projects- without giving proper priority to the intangibles: who you are becoming, your relationships with family and friends, your connectedness to God.”

Breaking the pattern of chronic over-scheduling necessitates conscious intervention.  Yet, people often sound as if they had no choice in the matter.  Pastor Hybels interrupts with a news flash: You are the boss of your schedule!

However, simply reshuffling the same deck of cards consistently will deal the same too-busy hand.  To achieve a simplified life, the hours of each day must be well-invested, holistically creating room for both outward activities and inner priorities.  The author emphasizes the calendar is our “primary tool” for helping us become who we want to become.

Next, Pastor Hybels asks us to consider how we would spend our time if God were in charge of it.

Today’s question: Following your vocation loss how have you established balance between outward activities and inner priorities?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: the new Short Meditation, “Lessons from a burrowing owl”

Outward activities and inner priorities

Customizing a replenishment plan

Bill Hybels concludes Chapter 1 of Simplify with a caution- when we’re at the bottom of our fullness bucket, we’re dangerous.  Living in a depleted state has serious consequences for every area of life.  We aren’t living the way God designed us to live.  Pastor Hybels provides two action steps to help us assess our movement from exhausted to energized.

1.  Take an honest assessment.  We need to take a sober assessment marking our current energy level, asking God what underlies our natural inclination for running on empty.

2.  Craft a custom replenishment plan.  The second action step involves customizing a replenishment plan unique to the way God created each of us.  For example, what people and activities replenish us when we’ve gotten a bit low in the tank?  Rather than worry about how well we fit replenishment into our overcrowded schedule, for now we need to envision a perfect day when all we do is what suits us.

Pastor Hybels describes our initial goal:

“The point isn’t to fill yourself up quickly, but rather, to train yourself to begin the habit of prioritizing the replenishing streams that breathe life into your soul and leave your bucket filled.  There are no shortcuts .  Change begins with small, daily steps.  Start now.”

Today’s question: What small, daily steps can you take to being customizing a replenishment plan? Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Outward activities and inner priorities”

Customizing a replenishment plan

Re- create energy and vitality

In today’s blog, Bill Hybels discusses the second through fifth keys to replenishing our souls.

2.  Family.  Although family looks different for each of us, Pastor Hybels emphasizes we all have a “family” of friends we’ve gathered around us- people God has brought into our lives.  To keep our bucket filled, our family relationships  need to be on the replenishing side instead of the energy-draining side.

3.  Satisfying work.  The author steadfastly maintains “if your job sucks the life out of you week after week, year after year, you will never be able to keep your energy bucket filled.”  We must prayerfully evaluate what truly matters, differentiating between needs and wants.  Pastor Hybels adds that the people he knows who are constantly filled up are quite satisfied with their vocation.

4.  Recreation.  Pastor Hybels confesses he had no form of recreation in his life whatsoever during his first fifteen years of ministry at Willow Creek.  He became so depleted he couldn’t find his way out.  His counselor explained that recreation means to re- create energy and vitality in one’s soul.  It’s essential to install some form of recreation as a “regular stream of replenishment.”

5.  Exercise.  A commitment to good health boosts not only physical health, but our mental health and energy reserves.  Pastor Hybels advises identifying the best hours of our day and modifying our daily routine accordingly.

Today’s question: Which of Bill Hybels’ five keys to soul replenishment are necessary for you to re- create energy and vitality?  Please share.

Coming Monday: the new Short Meditation, “Lessons from a burrowing owl”

Tomorrow’s blog: Customizing a replenishment plan”

Re- create energy and vitality

Connecting with God

Today Bill Hybels discusses the first key (of five) to replenishing our souls.

1.  Connecting with God.  Pastor Hybels unequivocally states the single biggest bucket-filler in his life is being firmly hand-in-hand with God (emphasis author’s).   Pastor Hybels adds that when he is really connected with God, he’s quicker to stay on God’s agenda and is far less concerned about other people’s opinions of him as well as their plans or expectations for his life.

Connecting with God filters out the noise of everyone else who wants our attention.  When we’re in a right relationship with God, Pastor Hybels notes, our identity is secured and our agenda is simplified.  We’re not tempted to run out and do things that God sees as totally irrelevant.

Furthermore, being intentional about spending time with God every day is the antidote to one particular energy-killer: image management.  Secure in  our identity as children of God, we are free to commit our energy to God’s agenda for our lives.  As the author concludes:

“Life is much simpler when we have only one agenda to meet: God’s.”

Tomorrow Pastor Hybels will discuss the remaining keys to replenishing our souls- family, satisfying work, recreation, and exercise.

Today’s question: What Bible verses have strengthened your intentionality in connecting with God?  Please share.

Tomorrow’s blog: “Re- create energy and vitality”

 

Connecting with God