Anything else but.

Procrastination is the bad habit of putting off until the day after tomorrow what should have been done the day before yesterday. –Napoleon Hill


I’m not usually too bad about procrastinating. I usually putter around a bit, but with the understanding that while I putter, I am organizing my To Do List of the mind. Yeah, that’s it.

As we prepare for a vacation, for instance, I know we’ll need to pack stuff. I know we need one last trip to the grocery store for road food. (When the kids were little, we always took along a bag of suckies [hard candies] and chewies [soft candies]. That way, no one complained.) And yes, I know eventually, we will need to give the house one last cleaning. I really don’t like coming home to a dirty house.

But for now . . . I am content to do just about anything else. I have one more sermon to craft—but before I start that . . . and then, suddenly, it’s Friday.

But along the way of my doing other things, I have made time for a walk. And I saw baby birds learning to fly. The river crowding its banks as it makes its way to Lake Erie. Dogs discovering brand new smells every time they turn around.

A little procrastination isn’t a bad thing. Just don’t make it a lifestyle. Take the day as it comes, with open eyes.

Monday Remember how to cut a paper snowflake?  Try it again. Praise God for wonders of nature. Job 38:4-7

Tuesday Pray today for a child in your life, whether your own or someone else’s. Pray God’s blessing and guidance in their life. 1 John 3:1-3

Wednesday As summer draws to a close, pray for teachers and others who shape the lives of tomorrow’s leaders. Consider writing a note. Isaiah 11:6

Thursday Do you know someone who is serving as a missionary abroad? Pray for them, as they seek to shine the Light of Christ into some very dark corners. Zechariah 2:10-11

Friday Pray today for those sensing a Call from God. Pray for open minds, soft hearts and courage in the face of the uncertain. Romans 12:1-2

Saturday As you pray for yourself today, ask God to show you some new way, a little thing, perhaps, that you can do to change your corner of the world. Give thanks; invite another to join you. Move your feet. Joshua 6:2-5

Sunday As we gather today to worship the Almighty, reflect on the week that just finished. Allow your heart to be light. Give thanks for the gift of this day—and be glad! 1 Corinthians 12:12-27

 

Dear Lord, grant me the grace of wonder. Surprise me, amaze me, awe me in every crevice of your universe. Amen. –Abraham Joshua Heschel

 

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Spiritual dehydration

  Inside myself is a place where I live all alone, and that is where I renew my springs that never dry up. –Pearl S. Buck   The past two years (at least) have been exhausting, haven’t they? We had a pandemic that physically left us anxious and afraid. Our churches, where we go for nourishment, were closed or online longer than we wanted—and even now, we are careful. Politically, we have been divided against one another, and those wounds are still bleeding in many cases. We need to take care of ourselves. And it’s never been more difficult. What to do? How do I make time in our busy schedules—for me ? The simple answer: Whatever it takes. Remember when we would fly to a vacation destination? How the flight attendant would remind us that if the cabin loses pressure, the oxygen masks would drop down out of the ceiling? And that before we offer to help anyone else, we need to have our own masks in place ? Good advice for life in general. Today: Pause. Take inventory ...
Read more

What are you waiting for?

  The waiting is the hardest part. –Tom Petty   We spend a lot of time waiting. Waiting for the coffee to finish dripping. Waiting for the light to turn green. Waiting for the next available agent. It’s inevitable, really. We cannot always be first, and if we aren’t first, we’ll have to wait. But I think the more important thing is to ask yourself: How am I at waiting? Do I find myself getting anxious and fidgety? Am I worrying about things not going the way I really need them to go? Is my attitude rubbing off on people around me? The best way to wait is not to worry where we are in line, or gripe about wasted time. The best way to wait—is to be right there , in the moment of waiting. The disciples waited in fear; we wait in hope. Why not use this waiting time to pray? Welcome God’s presence into your heart. Ask God to bring you into the moment. Inquire what God would ask of you in this moment . Thank God for wisdom, patience, humor. . . . Take a d-e...
Read more

Don't be afraid.

Living is a great deal more than simply not dying. It is carrying out a mission, committing oneself to fashion some meaning that will attain eternity. –Leonardo Boff When asked, “What are you afraid of?” we offer a myriad of answers: snakes, spiders, flying in an airplane. But when pressed, many people, believers and non-believers alike, will admit that the one thing they fear most, at the core of their being, is death. Most of us enjoy having control over our lives, and frankly, we have very little control over, or way of knowing, how or when our earthly journey will end. And we have even fewer concrete answers about what will happen next. We have the profession of our faith and the occasional “crossing-over” story—but. No wonder death is near the top of that list. But sometimes, as I look around, it seems like people are less fearful about dying—and more afraid of living. Really cutting loose and enjoying our time together as human beings privileged to live in God’s am...
Read more