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? 

Magnificent Monday: Let's Focus on No More Guilt (and the North Rim of the Grand Canyon)

I'm sorry I didn't post on Friday evening, but I had a very good excuse. I was on my way out west with Gary so we could hike from the North Rim of the Grand Canyon. We didn't have internet access for several days...and so I did not post. 

We enjoyed hiking down from the North Rim and camping at Cottonwood Campground, then hiking back out today. It was grueling (as the Grand Canyon usually is) but beautiful.

As we hiked, I starting thinking about this blog. I felt guilty about not posting on Friday, but as I hiked I made a decision to never post another "Sorry Saturday," "Sad Sunday," etc. again.

Oh, I will probably post sometimes on Saturday, Sunday, or Monday, but I'm going to try not to hold on to any guilt about that. After all, I didn't sign a contract that promised a Friday night post. I know my loyal readers might miss it, but they can wait a few days. They have other things to do until I get a post up here.

So from now on, if it isn't a "Focus Friday," it's going to be a "Super Saturday," "Superb Sunday," or "Magnificent Monday."

I'm realizing more and more that when I let my mind go in negative directions, it affects my satisfaction with life and, often, my mental health. Maybe you find that, too, even if you don't deal with depression or a similar disorder.

Can we let go of the guilt we feel for little mistakes and failures? Can we focus instead on the things we do right and the successes we enjoy?

Successes like hiking seven miles down and then seven miles back up the North Kaibab trail at the Grand Canyon.

I'll leave you with a few pictures of our adventure the last couple of days and I'll see you again on Friday. 

There are more trees on the North Rim and they are just starting to turn. So pretty!

Here I am at one of the bridges on the trail.

You know me and my flowers (foreground)

Gary had the great idea of taking a pic of our shadows as we started hiking.

You can see a bridge at the bottom of this picture and how the trail loops around on the right side here.

"Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself to have attained this. Instead I am single-minded: Forgetting the things that are behind [the Focus Friday or something else I missed] and reaching out for the things that are ahead [next week's blog post or some other project], with this goal in mind, I strive toward the prize of the upward [seven miles upward?] call of God in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 3:13-14 NIV - italics mine)

Do you have a hard time letting go of guilt? How can focusing on God help you to let it go and enjoy all of the good things He helps you to do and experience?