Time

Do you think about it much? For me, TIME is so much more valuable than money. It is also, I think, the primary indicator of what is important to us as people. (The very first message that Bob Robbins spoke at LifePoint was about identifying what is important to us by seeing where our resources are spent... the resources of Time, Talent, & Treasure.) There are so many good things in life (A.D.D. MOMENT - I'm listening to Carrie Underwood's new release (Carnival Ride) and for the first time in my life I've been totally impressed by the BANJO.... Check out the track "Crazy Dreams.") ... and I'm back.... Where was I... Oh yeah, there are so many good things that we can spend our time on. I would highly encourage you to invest in key relationships above anything. The hierarchy is simple: GOD > FaMiLy > friends and others. A good friend of mine, Dan, gave me a great Biblical overview that supports this. I'll share it sometime.

Here is where I have to be totally honest. I'm not a great time manager. I have to be careful not to put other important things before my wife and kids. This is especially true for church stuff (don't confuse a personal relationship with God and activities done for His church) because it is such a passion for me. Sometimes I can jump into a project with such vigor that family time gets knocked back a notch (and this offends both God and my family.) We can not "coast" in our relationships and expect to have "relational creaminess" (ok, I'm old... I stole that phrase from the old Ace Ventura movie...)

Vange and I are doing a minor remodeling project together in our basement.... there are times when doing projects together causes a bit of..... uhhh.... well, friction. I have purposed to consciously and strategically use our project time together to BUILD our relationship..... talk, dream, and of course, redesign together. I want my kids to have a valid reason to say things like "Dad, thanks for hanging out with me today... that was fun." I want to get in the floor and wrestle with my boys (and my wife... wait, did I just think that or did I type it....) I want to go out and shoot hoops with my girls... I want to let everything else go and snuggle on the couch with Vange while we watch Prison Break (actually, she is the only one watching it, I'm just snuggling...)

Spend your time wisely. It is a limited resource and there is no lottery where you can win more!