Magnificent Monday: Let's Focus on Taking...Our...Time

Ironically, this post on taking our time will be one of my hastier undertakings. It's getting close to "Terrific Tuesday" but I'm just neurotic enough that I don't want to let another day slip by without updating this blog.

I attended the Breathe Christian Writers Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan this past weekend. My head is still swimming with all of the things I experienced there, but one thought has been bobbing to the surface often enough that I need to explore it here.

On Friday evening, our keynote speaker Leslie Leyland Fields shared this thought:

"When we throw our work out there too quickly, we're hoping the truth of our message will redeem the artlessness of our art. (It won't.)"

I kept pondering that as I thought about my blog. 

Was I throwing my work out there too quickly? 

Most of you know that I normally write on Friday evenings. I've been thinking about my topic before I write, but I just sit down and write it in one sitting and post it when I'm done.

I've had a good response most weeks. I think I've even been kind of proud of the fact that I can just whip up a blog post in a couple of hours.

Leslie got me thinking. Would it be better to spend more time on my blog posts? Could they encourage and inspire people even more if I wrote them "patiently and artfully" (in Leslie's words)?

I'm going to try that in the weeks ahead. Stay tuned to see if it makes a difference in the quality of my posts.

This idea can transfer to all areas of our life, can't it?

A meal prepared patiently and artfully can nourish the bodies and souls of those we feed.

A Sunday School lesson prepared patiently and artfully can do all kinds of work in our own heart and make us more effective as we teach it to our class.

A job done patiently and artfully can help us feel a sense of accomplishment and healthy pride in a job well done and it can be a witness to those we work with.

In this world of rush and hurry, it would do us all a world of good if we would slow down and take...our...time. 

"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for human masters, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving." (Colossians 3:23-24 NIV)

Do you rush through life and all of its many tasks and projects? How can focusing on God help you to slow down and do things patiently and artfully?