“The challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.” Steven Covey

Time for a refresher course! I read his book, “7 Habits of Highly Effective People” years ago. There was a pocket edition in my pile of books from the library. I skimmed through it.

I wrote down the 7 habits. I drew the quadrant chart. I made a list of things for today and prioritized them according to the chart. I even noted 4 things to “sharpen my saw.”

My attempts to plan a daily routine had failed. Then it hit me – God wants to direct each day! They are all different.

My “to-do” list had become a list of chores. Boring! I wasn’t doing things I enjoyed. Several gifts God gave me were rusty from disuse. Important tasks ignored because of fear. Today’s verses confirmed my line of thinking.

1 Chronicles 28:8, “…obey and study every last one of the commandments of God so that you can make the most of living in this good land and pass it on intact to your children, insuring a good future.” The Message

* * * * * * *

1 Chronicles 29:19, “…an uncluttered and focused heart so that he can obey what You command, live by Your directions and counsel,…” The Message

There were 4 important items that were not urgent on my list. Two of them took a little courage. After devotions, I tackled them one at a time. One is complete and the other 3 require input from David.

I compare every book I read to the precepts in the Bible. Therefore, I rearranged Steven Covey’s 4 dimensions of “sharpening the saw.” (He said to daily do an activity to renew ourselves in each dimension.)

1. Spiritual – God first.
2. Social – JOY comes from putting Jesus and Others before You.
3. Physical – Paul said to buffet our bodies.
4. Mental – Information does not give you Truth.

The last one I borrowed from Pastor Monte Knudsen. He preached from 2 Timothy 3:1-7 last week.

“We are in a culture of selfishness. Selfishness causes dangerous times. Take God out of knowledge and you never come to Truth. The Truth makes you free from fear and doubt. Doing and doing what is right are 2 different things. Lack of self-discipline leads to self-destruction.”

Pastor Monte Knudsen, 2-21-2018

It’s time to “sharpen my saw!”

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