that elusive thing called time & the best Friday ever.

what breakfast can look like when 

you've been given the gift of time.

green tea, grilled english muffin with strawberry jam, kiwi, and
french vanilla yogurt with granola and chocolate chunks.

It's official - I'm now only moderately employed. While most people might be stressing their brains out, I couldn't be more pleased with the flexibility of my new schedule. Although my last day of full-time work was a week ago, I still feel like life has been pretty busy! I taught class on Monday and Wednesday, planned for class on Tuesday and studied for a ropes course certification exam I had Wednesday (which I passed!), had a meeting Wednesday night...

I guess that's how things typically roll. Whenever you feel like you've been blessed with free time, it gets filled with something else before you even have time to relish in your excitement about the time you thought you had. The nerve. When my life starts to spin out of control like that (which is almost always), I try to keep this quote in the forefront of my mind:

Isn't life always filled up? What an aggressive war we wage just to create space for God. Even chatting with my best friend last night, we realized that life can be filled with good things and still be so full. She's involved in tons of great things - a small group, helping with high school youth group, pre-marital counseling, wedding planning, she's in a play, her day job - right?? All good things! That's why keeping your life from being filled up can be so tough.

And that's also why I wrote this post a few weeks ago. I was really starting to feel convicted about how my time was spent. Now that I've been given tons more time, I want to be sure I use it wisely. 

You know that verse, "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much." Luke 16:10? Yikes... let's just say I hope I can be trusted with this "much" that I've been given these days.

Step 1: Have a good quiet time on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Right now I'm in a place where I feel like studying God's Word is a little chore-like. And I hate that. I had started an in-depth study of 1 Peter (a book I love) back in December, so I hope that picking that back up will help. 

Step 2: Train for a 5k to get your lazy butt back in action. I can't be trusted to exercise on my own right now. You know when you get so out of shape that the thought of the hard work to be fit again is a massive repellent? Welcome to my brain. That's why I'm using this chart from Fitness Magazine to help! Five days in and going strong :) This isn't my first 5k, but it sure feels like it.

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So I pray that you're encouraged. Take hold of your schedule and let God know that He's a priority. Whether you have 30 free hours this week or 2, I pray that especially this weekend, you are able to delight in all who God is. 

Today is Good Friday. Didn't seem very good at the time, huh? Christ was being beaten, bruised, jeered at, spit on, harassed, and ultimately was crucified. But like all things, with time and faith, it became good. God the Father knew that He was working out the ugly and the cruel into something marvelous and beautiful. Something that would save us all. 

Rest in the knowledge that what happened on this day, while horrific in thought, was wonderful in the end. Be disciplined this weekend to dwell on who Christ is, what he did, and create space for Him to act in your life.

How can you show God your love for Him with your time?