Today I will:
The hope of the righteous brings joy, but the expectation of the wicked will perish. Proverbs 10:28 (ESV)
It is the nature of God within us that drives us to create and achieve. However, what we create and achieve we often let circumstances determine for us. Paul tells Timothy in 2 Timothy 1:9 that God did not call us because of the works we would do, but according to His purposes and grace. If we don't submit our aspirations to Him consciously, we can too often fill up our days with busyness, anxiety, and activity, but really accomplish nothing worthwhile.
People who can focus on the important and accomplish it each day have better control of their time and feel better about themselves. Those who show up at work and just start answering the phone, responding to any emails that pop up on their computers, or get lost in the myriad of little things that should be done, but can wait, will often find they are leaving at the end of the day with nothing having really been accomplished. A little advanced planning can keep such daily, urgent demands at bay.
Start with prayer and ask God to help you organize your day. Look at all you have to do and dedicate blocks of time to work on the important things first. Set aside time when you are freshest and most alert for the things that are most Significant. Then don't just plan your business day, but think about what you might do with your loved ones tonight that would help them see how really important they are to you as well.
Today I will:
Love never fails. 1 Corinthian 13:8 (NIV)
Do you love what you do?
That may not be such an easy question to answer sometimes. Maybe you started your career with purpose, or perhaps circumstances just seemed to lead you to the place you are now. Your "career" may be in an office, a business, or being the "Human Resources Director" for your own family. Whatever the case, how much love you put into any job often determines how much satisfaction you get out of it-as well as whether or not the job is done with excellence. Nothing can sap life out of us as much as just going through the motions each day to accomplish the tasks at hand without conscientious involvement. If we do that too long, we begin to feel more like machines than people, and our sense of divine purpose gets lost in monotony.
However, nothing we do should be ordinary or boring. We have an intangible element within us that gives life to whatever we do. It is the love of God that He has poured generously into our hearts. Letting that love shine out of us no matter how mundane the task can prove to be the differ-ence between the rich man's gifts and the widow's two mites.
With God's Spirit within us and His love flowing out of us, nothing should be ordinary or boring.