Time. 

We all have it.   When it comes day to day, we all have the same seven days a week,  24 hours a day, sixty minutes to the hour and the same sixty seconds to the minute.   Some are really wise in the spending of their time and others waste it like the leftovers after a banquet. 

I'm guilty of both I guess.  There are times when I'm very productive getting more stuff done than thought humanly possible.  I sleep very well on those nights when I do finally turn in.  Tonight will be such a night.

Lately, since I'm not working outside the home, I feel like I have lots of wasted time.  Some nights I don't sleep that well and I think about my day.  Did I use my time wisely or did I squander it today?   Was I productive or did I fritter the day away with nothing to account for it?  Seems like I've had quite a few of these types of days since I moved here.  That is, until the Christmas season hit.  With the decorating, baking, shopping, wrapping and planning for an upcoming trip, I'm more than using my allotted time effectively. 

I read recently about someone who said that our leisure time is important because it tells us what is important to us.  It shows us where our heart is at and what we value most.  Hmmmm.  What do I do for leisure?  Well post on JU for one thing.  I can't say run because when I run I don't consider that leisure.  I consider that work!  Working out is not leisure time in my book.  So I guess we have to ask ourselves what does our leisure time say about us?

I'm thinking about these things because I read this recently. 

“See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil.” (Ephesians 5:15-16)

Wow!  The days are evil.  We are to think of time as redeeming it.  So sort of like how we treat money.  We spend it wisely or we waste it don't we?   Do we redeem our time differently than we redeem our money or the same? 

Paul is saying here, going back to v14, that the Apostle's were calling for believers to walk as those who have been raised from the dead and are now living in the light of Christ's light. 

"All of the prophets and apostles lived with the light of eternity in their eyes, and that made their days all the more valuable. Instead of dropping off into nothingness away from God, we are galloping toward the moment when time becomes so full of meaning that it bursts into eternity."  (Katherine Britton; Crosswalk.com)

We are to live like the people we are.  As believers in Christ we are are to be wise and what we do with our time should correspond to what we are. 

A great 16th Century reformer Philipp Melanchthon kept a record of every wasted moment and took his list to God.  He confessed this wasted time at the end of each day.  Can you imagine?  I imagine that's why he's considered to this day a great reformer. 

As I look forward to 2009 I am bound and determined to have more valuable time and less wasted time.  I'm not sure exactly how I will accomplish this at the moment but it will be something I'll be thinking about.  First off I will be more pro-active instead of reactive when it comes to getting things done. 

Chop......Chop.......there's not a second to waste!  You can't make footprints in the sands of time sitting down.

-Time is a great teacher, but unfortunately it kills all its pupils.  Hector Berlioz

-Dost thou love life?  Then do not squander time, for that's the stuff life is made of.  Benjamin Franklin

-All the treasures of earth cannot bring back one lost moment-French proverb

-Time is money-Greek proverb

-Time is the wisest of all counselors-Plutarch