Do guilt and time go together?

Remember the time you take is yours do not feel guilty, it is a gift to be enjoyed! I feel that is always a struggle for some of us about how we use our time. We need to remember the time we have been given is a gift. Every moment we have is time we have been given to use.

Our time at work, our time at play, our time with friends and family is all a gift given to use we should never feel guilty about a gift. The very breathe we breath is a gift from God it is precious and should never be taken for granted. (Genesis 2:7). So we need to look at time in the same way a gift that should not be taken for granted. Time was given to us for a special purpose and not to make us feel guilty if we use some of it for ourselves!

There are moments when I feel the time I spend writing these blogs, is this time or words making any difference or even helping someone? Well what I have found was, it is helping me at the very least! Why Because I have found a gift and that gift is time to share  with anyone who is willing to take some time to read these! If you do you have found some extra time wow! Another thing is my wife has been pushing me to take the time to write and I have fought it for so long because I just did not have the time!! Duh!! 

Wow what a false perception I convinced myself with, as we all do, we talk ourselves out of the time to do something constructive because we feel guilty taking the time to enjoy! Now I know we have to work and that takes up most of our day yet what do we do with the rest of that time? We clog it up with all the stuff we feel we need to get done then feel guilty that we do not! That is not a good use of the gift of time.

There are times that is alright, what that does, is show us we really do have time and set some reasonable goals on how to use it so we can accomplish those things we also enjoy! Sometimes we need to just do it, as the slogan says! Does any of this make sense? I hope so we all need to slow down and get a handle on what has been given to us and to use it in a healthy way. Not allow it to control us to the point of a stress riddled life full of guilt that I could of, should of, and would of if I just had the time!


Remember the time you take is yours do not feel guilty, it is a gift to be enjoyed! I feel that is always a struggle for some of us about how we use our time. We need to remember the time we have been given is a gift. Every moment we have is time we have been given to use. Ecclesiastes chapter 3:1-8 tells us there is time for everything, it has been given to you do not feel guilty using it!

Give it away to get it back?

Time given away is never time lost, time given away is always time found! If you are looking for some extra time today try giving some away to get some back! You may ask now, if I give it away how am I gaining anything? That is a good question if you look at it in the sense that you are just giving! Yet in giving someone, or even yourself some time think about it you have stopped long enough to gain some.

When we stop and give the time we still are feeling we do not have the lesson learned is, hey I really do have some extra time wow!! What a feel good time we have when we have found that something we had lost and so earnestly have been looking for. Once we find it we just want to celebrate, it is just like the parable Jesus shared about a women who had lost a coin. She swept and cleaned her house until she found it and got so excited she had to tell her friends about it. Luke 15:8-10

That is exactly the feeling of relief we seem to get when find some of the valuable time we have, or think we have lost! It all comes down to what are we willing to give away to gain something we so desperately need, rest, refreshing, renewing of our minds, TIME! When we stop long enough to just talk to someone we gain, when we stop give someone a smile we gain, when we just take some time to look in the mirror and say hey I like what I see, we have gained!

See it is not something we selfishly do to get some reward or a pat on the back, it is a natural reward we get when we just do what we should do! Stop just a moment catch our breathe and enjoy what is ours once we have given it away to get it back.Time given away is never time lost, time given away is always time found! If you are looking for some extra time today try giving some away to get some back!

Take a moment of time!

The moment of time we give this morning will bring a smile to someone today, maybe even you? Take time! When we take time to really think about it, it is always nice when someone stops and at least says hi! It kinda makes you feel a little more like you are part of the world. Like you really exist when people acknowledge your presence.

It is a feel good moment. Knowing how it makes you feel can you now imagine how someone else may feel, or maybe that is the exact moment they need? We never know, as I have said in the past, how just a moment of our time given to someone else can and may make all the difference! They could be just seconds away from giving up or debating weather they have any value at all.

We have all felt that way at one time or another and it was just at that moment someone took time to say a simple hi how are you doing? Or they may have just needed your ear for a moment to share some struggles they may have been dealing with. And when you took the time to listen you found your life was not going so badly and it made you feel a little more important that anyone would want to share their life with you.

Though it is not all about being important, it is about how much importance we put on time and how important it is that we share that time with others. That is what I call feeling a healthy importance and not a prideful one. When we take the time from our own hurts and troubles and give time to someone else who just may need it more. That is when we can feel properly important and have a sense of value because we have put that value into someone else.

In doing so our lives take on a natural importance because we have done what we have without an expectation of reward. That is why it works so well and it is so refreshing to use our time and not let it use us! When we just take a moment out of, what we think we do not have, and give it to someone else the rewards seem to be overwhelming!

People think I am happy all the time, wrong answer, I am not just ask my family!! But what I have learned is when I turn that negative time to smile at someone, or since I am a huger I tend to grab on! Things and thoughts change and my outlook seems to brighten! Because it is just at that moment I have heard many times a resounding thank you, you will never know how much I needed that right now!! WOW!!

 The moment of time we give this morning will bring a smile to someone today, maybe even you? Take time!

If you have time?

If you have the time to think about the time you do not have you have plenty of time, think about it! We always seem to have the time it takes to tell ourselves, hey I don't have the time! Well if we just stop and think about that statement for a bit I think we will see we have time to spare.

No matter what Jesus seemed to be doing at the time He never talked Himself out of what He could or could not do. He just stopped what He was doing at the time to see, not only the need, but to hear what that need was. In Luke 18:35-43 we see one of these instances where Jesus was pretty busy. He had His sites set on Jerusalem yet that never deterred nor distracted Him from taking time for someone in need!

The beggar along side of the road heard all the noise of a crowd passing him by, no one seemed to have time for him and neither did they feel Jesus had the time. Yet the man begging, when finding out that it was Jesus near him, took that time to cry out! Though the people told him to be quiet he never allowed that to hinder him! He new the time was precious and if he failed to cry out all the more he would have missed a great opportunity.

Guess what? Jesus heard, and not only heard but stopped what He was doing at the time, and took the time to listen to the mans needs. The result the beggar was healed from his dilemma, he wanted to see, and see he did. It was a life changing event in this mans life he found purpose and joy again. What if he had done exactly what we do daily? Spend that time talking ourselves out of the time, and listen to others who agree with you that you have no time!

What opportunities have we missed by doing this? We miss the chance for a little comfort, we miss the chance for a little deserved rest. We miss more than we think we do when we spend time, and listen to those have been caught in the same trap, convincing themselves and us we have no time! If you have the time to think about the time you do not have you have plenty of time, think about it!

It takes time and prayer to heal!

Time I took, and the time people took to pray for me and my back paid off. I am dressed for the first time in over a week! All it took was a little time. If my injury slowed you all down a bit, praise God!! You took time! I am reminded of the story in Acts, when the Apostle Paul was preaching.

 There was a young man named Eutychus, sitting in a window as Paul was bringing the word. He apparently got bored, not sure how with Paul preaching, yet he did. The cost was he forgot he was sitting in an open window and apparently did not take the time to check his surroundings before he dozed.

As a result Eutychus fell from the window, second story no less, which resulted in his death. But Paul being the man of God he was, never missed a beat and wanted no one to be distracted. And taught them a lesson and importance of time management.

He stopped what he was doing, preaching by the way! He went down fell on him (Eutychus) took time prayed and encouraged the people and went back about the business at hand, preaching God's word! Paul was on a time schedule but not one that would hinder him from doing what God had planned. 

Actually he had to leave the next day yet the incident with Eutychus never distracted him from his purpose.Most of us would have been in a frazzle and stressed trying to figure it all out, that is why taking the time to think things through is healthy. 

Not only for ourselves but such an example to those around us. As we take the time God has given us to be rational and know that He is in control the decisions we make most always are controlled and orderly.By the way as a result of Paul not being a typical preacher, having to get his message in! Eutychus life was restored. 

Had Paul gotten frustrated that his time was taken away and he had to waste it on someone who was being silly in the first place. The real power of God's message would have gotten lost! I feel it had to happen for people to see the power of God at work and His love for us always has time and His word will be spoken regardless of any of Satan's distractions!! (Acts 20:7-12).

As you, I hope you will take the time, read these verses you will see that not only did Paul get his message in but the people were excited even more to say the least!!!

Stressed, rushed, and maxed out?

It's when you are stressed, rushed, and pushed to the max, you need to stop and take a moment of time and just breathe! Jesus did just that when he was stressed, He always got away by Himself and prayed. A great picture of this is The Garden of Gethsemane as He faced the Cross! He took with Him Peter, James, and John also and asked them to pray. (Matthew 26: 36-46).

In verse 37 it says, And He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and He began to be sorrowful and deeply distressed. Facing the cross of Calvary for us He was stressed, to say the least, and needed time to fellowship with the Father He needed time to just breathe.

 The Bible says, He left heaven for us and came to earth to be with us in the flesh and experience what we do in life yet without sin. (Hebrews 4:14-16).  Jesus put Himself in a weakened state to share in our experiences but he did not sin doing that! What He did was show us what to do when we get in those situations, not to over react and do things we regret.

As He stopped to talk to the Father, so we need to stop take time to talk to our Father in heaven to get a better perspective on our lives. We need to take time and breathe in those times we feel we have no time! We need to take stress, being rushed, and being maxed out to the throne room of God. We need to stop and catch our breath. (Hebrews 4:16).

If Jesus, being fully God, became fully man for us, John 1:1-14, Who took time to stop and just breath? Who are we being mere humans think we can do any different? We need to follow the best example given when we are stressed, rushed, and maxed out we need to come to Jesus just stop and Breathe!

Me stand still?

We all want time to stand still for us, but we won't stand still for time! When asked the question why can't I seem to get anything done? The answer usually is I don't even have time to stand still. Well lets think about that for a moment.

We will stand in lines at Christmas for the best deal, lines at concerts or sporting events, and even do the tail gate thing all day. Yet we cannot seem to take the time to just stand still and enjoy a moment of healthy quiet and to get our direction back.

You ask the question if I am stopping to have fun with my friends is that not the same thing? It could be, if you are not under their time constraints! Sometimes that is not the standing still we need at all. What we are doing is appeasing someone else who feels they need our time.

I know there have been times in my life when I wished I had just said no when it was not something I really wanted to do. I have learned over the years that no is not a bad word. We need to use it on ourselves more often then we would care to. When we are stressed and looking for a much needed break hanging out with friends who may push us more may not be the still time we need.

We need time to stand still for us yet we need to stand still for time to clear our thinking to re-evaluate our priorities. And most importantly to determine what is best for us and not necessarily what is best for everyone else. Sometimes what is best for everyone is the thing we do best for us and that is get a grip on our time.

I am one of those people who others say, no more caffeine for you buddy or you need to cut back on the sugar! So I am speaking from some experience here I had to learn that no is not bad especially for me! I learned to take time slow down a bit and clear my thinking. Was it hard? Yes to say the least yet when I started doing it, standing still for time, I found I enjoyed the time I had gained so much more.

Why? Because I was in control of my time, time was not in control of me, nor were those around me. For me to sit and write has not been easy, yet I have found when I stop and do this my day seems to be longer. I know it isn't, but it sure seems that way!

I had also found that when I was not standing still for time I was not being still before God!
The One who had given me of His precious time so I could have the life I have. My time for Him has so improved, that my time for me and others has been precious and truly amazing.

We all want time to stand still for us but are we willing to stand still for time? Proverbs 16:3

Why are you reading this?

If you don't have time to get anything done, then why are you taking the time to read this? I hope if you are you are learning you have more time then you know! When I sat down to write this blog I began to wonder, how many people are reading this and still feel they have no time to get through their day? They already have their day full and are starting to stress that time away!

I write this in hopes that folks will truly see, if they have time to read something like this. They will come to the realization they have time and to take it. If you find this interesting enough to stop, and or start your day with. Then I pray you will see the truth that you are beginning to gain on something you thought you had no chance to gain, time itself.

Again just a gentle reminder to the fact, and if we think about it hard enough, all we truly have are the moments we take to just breath. When we stop to smell the roses and take in the sweet smell they give we are learning to live in the time we have been given and become grateful. Our lives are spent on the time lost and how we can regain it instead of living in the time we have now.

Time past is just that, time past, we cannot regain what is past but we can begin to gain on what is now! Why are you reading this if you truly do not have the time? Because you have found you do have time and it is worth not wasting it on worry, and stress, and fretting it away. Why are you reading this? Because you have time!! Matthew 6:25-34

Time a bad habit?

One bad habit we get ourselves into is, the time we spend talking ourselves out of the time we have! Bad habits are developed over time, they say that it takes about a month to develop them! If we do something over and over it again it takes hold, for good habits that it good, for bad habits that is bad! When we keep telling ourselves we have no time we are developing a bad habit!

As in relationships we can get ourselves into trouble if we hang around with trouble as the Apostle Paul wrote in I Corinthians 15:33 Do not be deceived: Evil company corrupts good habits. Whatever we spend the most time doing that is what will control us. In Romans 6:16 it talks about becoming slaves to those things  we allow to control us one of those is talking ourselves out of time.

We need to remember time is a good thing and not turn it into a bad thing. It's time to reroute our thinking and put time management on the top of our list. It is not to late to develop those new habits that will keep us healthy in our thinking and acting. Get rid of those things that hold you back such as spending time on what robs you of your time.

Time in no way needs to be a bad habit it needs to be something we can enjoy again because we have more of it than we allow ourselves. It is time to focus on what we can get done instead of what we cannot. Is time really a bad habit? Only if we develop it into one, spend less time looking at time as something we have less of and more time enjoying what we have most of. TIME!

Jesus took time to rest so I guess we can too!

Even Jesus took some quiet time, and I do not think we were near as busy as He was. And Guess what? God took time off to rest so who do we think we are that we do not need to do it? Jesus knew the importance of rest and time away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life. He would take this time to get Himself refreshed and pray, He was setting an example for us to follow. Mark 6:30-31

God in the beginning after His work was done rested on the 7th day and set that day apart as holy, a day devoted to Him! Genesis 2:1-3. God set the plan in motion knowing that we are not super human as we would like to believe. We need to take time and rest to get renewed and refreshed. Jesus also said; come to me all who are weary and heavy burdened and I will give you rest. Matthew 11:28-30.

We most times put a guilt trip on ourselves if we take a break, and things do not seem to get done! Well guess what? If we took a little more time to ourselves we could get refreshed and renewed. It will amaze you what you can accomplish, your thinking is clearer you feel much better and you make more rational decisions. Time has be given to us for a reason, not just to stay busy, but to enjoy God's creation around us.

We miss so much of the beauty around us and the joy it brings us. I have heard so many people say how much they miss certain things in their lives because of being too busy. Well my question to you is, what did you do different to get that memory you so desire to enjoy again? You had to take time to build that memory, you had to take a vacation or a long weekend. It's called planning but that takes time huh?

We keep calenders for everything else, except ourselves and the time we need for us! It is alright to take the time for us. In fact it is as important as anything in our lives! I truly believe if people took the time to rest and relax, again I say, medication sales would go down significantly! I feel some sickness would subside and we would just genuinely feel better about our lives and what goes on around us because we have gained a little more control.

Jesus took time off so I guess we can too!

Time becomes precious when?

How precious time becomes when we have so little of it, we need to reach out and grab the moment!! We need to just savor what we have because time is fleeting by each day! If we knew our time was at hand what would we do differently? I'll bet our thinking would change allot! I'll bet we would even try and contact everyone we could or try and make up for time lost?

Why wait? Why not take advantage of what we are guaranteed, now! Yes we have right now we are not given tomorrow until it arrives. Why do we spend so much time on things that do not matter and worry about what does, and do nothing? We lose so much of what is precious by grabbing hold of a future that is not ours yet! 

Jesus said in Matthew 6:34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. In other words take time for what is now and not what will be, deal with those things that are certain. As Jesus said, today has enough to deal with don't waste your time on a tomorrow that is not yours yet!

Time becomes precious only, when we value it more then wasting it on what we have no control of. We really need to stop and do an evaluation of how and what we spend our time on, and what causes us to lose so much of it. Take some time today to smell the roses and take in what is going on around us. Just a moment is all it takes for time to become precious again and find enjoyment in the now!

If you can waste it you have it!

If you need to take the time think less about it and take it. The time we waste thinking about the time we need, is the time we need to take!! See we have time!! We have more time than we can ever imagine if we think about it. The time we spend in worry about what we do not have, should tell us we have more than we know!

We need to just start taking the time we feel we do not have and put it to good use, especially on the things that really matter. Family, us, job, and friends, I would say pretty much in that order. We tend to waste more time trying to figure out what to do with time that we lose too much of it!

This morning for instance, as I was trying to write this, my wife Karen came down and asked me to go start the car for her. Now, like many times I let that throw me because we usually have a routine, but this morning it changed a bit. Yet I still was able to sit back down because I did not try and figure it out I just went and got it done and here I am with time to spare.

Amazing, I put to the test my theory of not wasting time by letting little kinks get in the way, or spend the time I needed trying to figure out what had changed. The Apostle Paul was a man who did not get rattled with the small stuff either. He kept in focus what was important and what was not. I know if he tried to figure it all out he would have missed golden opportunities.

Paul was on a ship once heading to Rome for a visit with the Emperor when a bit of a storm blew up! Actually it was one of those Nor'easter storms that just plain can get your attention! Well as the scripture would have it Paul was beside himself with fear and not thinking clearly. NOT!! He had tried to warn them earlier about the danger but they ignored that pressed on and found themselves in a very bad pickle you might say!

Now Paul could have wasted time telling them they should have listened, or got into the I told you so syndrome, but he did not. He took advantage of the situation and became a guiding light to those who felt they had run out of time. Instead of wasting time he took the time to get their attention, to encourage them that he had a word from God that they would all be spared. 

A word, that had time not be taken, would have been lost in the deep with many lives! That is how it works with us we miss so many important opportunities because we allow many distractions in our lives. These distractions cause us to waste precious time. And remember if we can waste it we have it! Acts 27:9-38       

I have the time!

I have found out when I feel I have no time, yet have time for Face Book, twitter, and comments etc. I have time!! It has always been amazing to me that I have time for everything else I like to do. But when it comes to the things I need to do I have no time! It's called priority, setting whats important in front of what really is not!

When caring for my mom in the morning I have a routine. Yet I still find myself pressed for time to do some things I want to do, like this blog for instance! I have found though, when I keep my self focused and stick to the routine things get done with time to spare.

The key word is focus staying the course as we have heard said many times, but that works. I know things can happen that throw a kink in the day, we will have those. The main thing is still remain focused you will find if you do not get rattled you will have ample time to get things done.

And if you do not, Lord willing, there is always tomorrow and that's alright really. Guess what? When you are thinking about the time you do not have, you have time, think about it. When we have time for face book, twitter, making comments about some issue that stirs us we have time.

Take time to step back and re-evaluate, take a look at what you are giving your precious time to if we have time for all the above. Guess what? I have time!! 

Many Healthy Returns!

When you invest your time in God and people, you will find you actually have some time for you. Right investments mean healthy returns!
 Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness and all these things will be added unto you! Matthew 6:25-33.
These verses talk of worry. Do you understand that worry gets us no where except feeling ill? We invest our time, more than we think, in the worry mode. Like the scripture says food, drink, clothing, etc. and what is going to happen tomorrow, even though we have no guarantees there.
 If we invest in God and what He has for us today, our investments return to us, as healthy.
 We learn that we are taken care of,  and our faith is strengthened and grows. God wants us to care for others in the same way! He wants our time, so we can have time.
We will learn to budget our time, as we do our income, if we invest it properly. Worry is not a wise investment. Invest your time in God, and others, and you will see a healthy return!

Take that time it's yours!!

When we are thinking about time, do not forget to give yourself a little, when we learn to do that, giving time to others comes much easier! Time management is most always a topic of discussion. Take time to rest, take time to vacation, take time for each other!

Do you see what is trying to be said here? It is important to take time for yourself, when we all realize that we will put priority in time investment. My wife and I care for my mom who has Alzheimer's. It can be very stressful at times, the one thing caregivers are counseled to do is, take time for yourselves!

Why? Because when you are healthy the outlook around you becomes healthy. The stress seems to subside, the worry seems to go away. We tend to see light at the end of the tunnel. When my wife and I started really doing this, without the guilt we can put on ourselves, we began to enjoy caring for mom because we looked at her as mom not an Alzheimer's patient!

We are important! Yet when everything else around us takes precedence over us we see that very dimly. We tend to treat others around us the way we treat ourselves, poorly! The Psalmist tells us in 46:10, Be still and know that He is God, being still is the key ingredient. When we learn to do this, take time for ourselves, we learn the importance of care, mentally, physically, and spiritually.

When we do this we see the best life has to offer instead of the worse. We look at folks around us with a little more importance because now we see ourselves with a little more value. When we are treating others badly, or looking down our nose at them, take a look in the mirror, what do you see? A person of value or a person you are looking down on?

The Bible tells us to love our neighbors as our self Matthew 22:34-40, how are we treating others, how are we treating ourselves? Think about taking some time for yourself today, see if it doesn't make a difference. It will take a little time but you are worth it and you will begin to see the worth in others and life around you change.

The time it takes to just pass by.

The time it takes to pass someone by, is exactly the time it takes to tell someone hi! We have more time than we know, and we never know how much it may mean to that person to give them a smile, a handshake, and if you are like me a big hug! Time is valuable only if you invest it in someone!

Jesus always found the time to give to people, as we can find throughout the gospels. One instance I want to share, why it is so important to give someone the time, You never know what they are going through. We never realize the impact how just saying hi or shaking someones hand may make their day and meet a special need.

Jesus was passing by a pool that was used for healing he noticed a man, and He knew the man had been struggling for some time. Jesus stopped, yes He could have passed by, Jesus was a busy man and a great number of people where always needing something. 

But Jesus took the time to ask the man a question, one that would change his life, "Do you want to be made well?" The man was not able to help himself and people were so into their own needs that they never had time for this man. He needed special help as he could not walk, and all he asked was, please lift me in the pool so my life can be changed also! John 5:1-15

It would not have taken anyone of those people more time to stop and help as it took them to just walk by. Jesus made a difference in this mans life by taking a moment of time just to ask a question, just taking the time to see his need and saying I care enough to take time. That man left different that day, Jesus healed him!

The point here is, I know you are not Jesus, but if we take time for someone especially when we feel we have no time to spare. We may experience a life changing event. The person we take time for may just be healed, maybe not physically, but most certainly emotionally. You may be giving that person exactly what they need at that time and that is time.

We may never know the impact we have on someone if we do not see that it only takes as much time to stop as it does to pass by, all it takes is a hi, a handshake, or a hug. That may be all they need at the time, so many people have said to me, that is exactly what I needed! You will never know how much that meant! And I never would have if I had not taken time and just passed by!

Take time to change yourself.

If we want change we have to change. Take time to reflect on the changes you need to make in yourself, and see if that makes a difference in the way you view others and the day! Now we know change, if we truly think about it, does not come easy. We have developed habits over the days months and years that are hard to break!


Knowing that we had to invest time to develop these habits, we have to understand, it will take the same investment of time to change them! The Apostle Paul had some bad habits that needed changing he hated Christians for one! He had a habit of looking at, what he thought anyway, was wrong thinking people had about their relationship to God! 


So he set out to change their thinking not realizing that maybe just maybe it was changes he needed to make in himself, and his view of God, that needed changing. As you read the story in Acts chapter 9 you will see God had different plans for Paul. Paul had an experience with God that changed his whole view of relationship, as you see, Paul could not really change anything, it took a relationship change with God.


So when we think we are having a bad day and we are looking at others faults and short comings. We may need to stop and invest a little time in us and check our relationship with Jesus, if you have one, If not why not try it! And see if that does not change our outlook on others and life itself. It does take change, yet somethings we cannot change without the help of God!


Take time to change yourself with the help of Jesus, know and understand, we really need the help to change. If we learn to look up to Jesus and not out at the world! We will have a completely different outlook on ourselves, others, and the day! II Corinthians 5:17