Taking Time

Taking Time

Time management- something I need to still get a handle on! This is from January 16, 2013.

My eighth graders are memorizing the old hymn Take Time To Be Holy this week. If you don't know it, here are the words:

Take time to be holy, speak oft with thy Lord;
Abide in Him always, and feed on His Word.
Make friends of God’s children, help those who are weak,
Forgetting in nothing His blessing to seek.

Take time to be holy, the world rushes on;
Spend much time in secret, with Jesus alone.
By looking to Jesus, like Him thou shalt be;
Thy friends in thy conduct His likeness shall see.

Take time to be holy, let Him be thy Guide;
And run not before Him, whatever betide.
In joy or in sorrow, still follow the Lord,
And, looking to Jesus, still trust in His Word.

Take time to be holy, be calm in thy soul,
Each thought and each motive beneath His control.
Thus led by His Spirit to fountains of love,
Thou soon shalt be fitted for service above.

According to Lexionary.org, these thoughts were penned in 1882 by a British businessman named William Longstaff who undoubtedly understood the value of time. And if he thought time was hard to come by over one hundred years ago, what would he think now? I talk to my students about what they perceive as the scarcity of time, even at their age. Most of them are juggling extracurriculars along with their academics and many of them sleep too little. Many seem addicted to social media, particularly with their phones, their primary connection with the world. I saw something I've never seen before several weeks back. On the last day of the year, I was in El Dorado, Arkansas with my Aunt Jerry and Uncle Jack. While Uncle Jack was at an appointment, Aunt Jerry was giving me the tour of El Dorado, a beautiful city of about 20,000 population. We were driving through a nice neighborhood when I saw a young man, probably about sixteen, who was in workout clothes and running, apparently for some sort of athletic conditioning. Do you know what he was doing as he ran? TEXTING! On one hand, I thought he was lucky not to get hit by a car but on the other hand, I had to admire his dexterity! Is time that scarce anymore that kids must multi-task to that extent?

That brings us back to the hymn. Unless we spend time in communion with the Lord, we'll drift. And at least with me, I have to schedule that session and again with me, the only time is when I wake up. If I put it off until later in the day, I can always find other things, sometimes good things, which interfere with my spiritual life. There were years when I read through the Bible four times but now I barely make it once. The difference? This devotional blog. I'm blessed with many readers and from the comments, I know it can be a blessing to some. Still, I have to make sure my writing doesn't make me a hypocrite, taking me away from the very values I espouse. The scriptures tell us Jesus went off by Himself to pray- what a great example for us. He was surrounded the last several years by a group of guys whose names my students memorize. You know;
'Jesus called them one by one, Peter, Andrew, James, and John, etc., etc..........'
Even though these were His handpicked assistants, He still had the need to isolate for renewal. We've moved out of the WWJD? phrasing in Christianity but it surely applies here. The Savior spent time alone for strength and solace, and somehow He managed it without a Day-Timer. I need to get on His schedule. 

Applicable quote of the day:
"I am definitely going to take a course on time management… just as soon as I can work it into my schedule."
Louis E. Boone

To listen to this beautiful hymn, click or copy/paste the link below!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFApbg-wcmE

God bless,
Steve
Luke 18:1
www.hawleybooks.com
E-mail me at steve@hawleybooks.com