One at a time, please.

“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” –Mary Oliver


So much to do in our lives, and so little time, it seems! It’s not enough simply to talk on the phone or work at our computers; we need to do both at once—while watching one TV program and recording a second one for later! We have our cell phones, voicemail, email, forwarding—all so we won’t miss out on a single thing. We have convinced ourselves that we can (and must) “do it all,” yet sometimes we miss the moment, precisely because we are mentally someplace else, thinking about the next item on our To Do List and missing the Christ in our midst.

We have become a society of ridiculous multi-taskers.

Maybe it’s time we slowed down a bit. Like Martha in Scripture (Luke 10:38-42), we can become so distracted by the many tasks and “stuff” in our lives that we have difficulty focusing on “the better thing.”

For many of us, winter becomes a chance to slow down a little, sleep in, eat more than we should. As springtime draws nearer, as life “ramps up” again, seek to create time and space to spend time in the presence of the Almighty, the “better thing” that cannot be taken from us. Enjoy the gift of the obvious, right before your eyes, and give thanks.

Monday In the face of yet another school shooting, pray for students and their teachers as they return to another week of classes. Give thanks for a special teacher in your life. Matthew 19:13-14

Tuesday Pray for parents and families. Give thanks for all families and for families separated by circumstances. Ruth 1:15-18

Wednesday Pray today for your congregation as they relate with the surrounding community. Give thanks for those who give of their time and gifts to this outreach. Consider joining in. Matthew 25:31-36

Thursday As you pray, seek to identify one thing in your life that takes time away from family, friends or God. Just for today—do less. Psalm 130:5-6

Friday Pray today for eyes that can see the extraordinary in our ordinary, everyday world. Give thanks for the obvious. Psalm 145:14-16

Saturday During your prayer time, lean into the silence. Listen more, speak less. Breathe. Relax; refresh; rejoice. 1 Kings 19:11-13

Sunday As we greet one another, share with one (or more than one) person a time they have been light in your life. Give thanks. Acts 2:42-47


Laziness is nothing more than the habit of resting before you get tired. –Jules Renard

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