April 21, 2021

10 Ways to Capture 10 Minutes

April 21, 2021

“What can I do with these few minutes?” Have you ever asked yourself that question? If you are like me, the unclaimed moments in your day tend to evaporate in the face of humm’s and ummm’s. But what if—what if—you and I had a strategy? What if we brainstormed and created a way to capture the assortment of six hundred (600) seconds that weave themselves throughout the fabric of our days? When I considered a game plan, this is what emerged:

Ten Ways to Capture Ten Minutes

Write a thank-you note
Call your mom
Floss your teeth
Fill your car with gas
Make your bed
Memorize a verse of Scripture
Stop and pray for your pastor’s wife (your boss, your child’s teacher, your mother-in-law)
Set the table for a family dinner
Take a ten-minute nap
Write one page in your memoirs

Hopefully, these ten ideas help you get started on the road to maximize your moments. What would you add to the list? Let’s go for 15 ways to capture 15 minutes!

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

“So teach us to number our days, That we may present to You a heart of wisdom” (Psalm 90:12).

What is your answer to this question: How can I maximize my day by conquering the ten minutes?

Debby Thompson

April 14, 2021

Making Space for Interruptions

Debby Thompson

April 14, 2021

***Throughout my life, I have marked a good day one that is full, productive, and efficient.***

Guest Post by Jayne Cuidon

Have you ever noticed how many stories start out with a description of the main character in a happy setting until something interrupts the plan? Adam and Eve hanging out with God in a garden, Joseph growing up in a big family with an adoring dad, Abram minding his own business in Ur…people going through their normal existence, BUT THEN….

Throughout my life, I have marked a good day one that is full, productive, and efficient. To accomplish a lot and have time, in the end, to admire the work fills my heart with satisfaction. Before my feet even touch the floor in the morning, I have a list in my mind of what I will do and when it will happen. Raising six kids in a foreign country slowed the process down a bit, but as I became more proficient in language and scheduling, I felt like I could eventually get back to productivity. Scott called me an energizer bunny, my dad called my activity level hyperactive, my kids called it exhausting to keep up with… I just called it life. BUT THEN…

We moved into my mom’s house to take care of her as Alzheimer’s eats holes in her brain. Most of what my mom has always been to me is gone, and now we’re at the stage where I need to consistently provide for many of her daily needs. While out with her to get her hair coiffed yesterday, she asked if we could also go and look at dresses. I felt like my brain’s GPS sighed, “Recalculating,” as I adjusted the efficient plans of the day to assimilate this interruption. We ambled through the department store at a snail’s pace in what felt like torture as she touched every piece of clothing that looked colorful. My energizer-bunny mind was moving too fast for this stroll and I caught myself having to breathe reminder prayers, “Lord, help me slow down. Help me be all here.”

It reminded me of Jesus’ encounters with so many broken people. They weren’t scheduled; they weren’t factored into the “what needs to be accomplished to make today worth it” list. He stopped to heal a crying widow’s son, he stopped to play with kids and bless them, He stopped to talk to a lonely woman at a well. He stopped doing what was important to do what was even more important. He said YES to those around Him and in doing so, conveyed worth, value, and respect for each one.

“ Sometimes the divine intervention of God means breaking allegiance with what you love.”

Priscilla Shirer in Life Interrupted stated that “sometimes the divine intervention of God means breaking allegiance with what you love.” It’s letting go of my desire to be efficient and productive and making space for what I love more – God’s gentle work in my heart, and my precious mom, and the days I have left with her. It’s usually in the BUT THEN moments of our lives that we become more human, softer, gentler, more loving. So mom and I sang in the car. We laughed at the dog whose head was hanging out of the window next to us with his ears flying. We lived that moment, as Jim Eliot says, “to the hilt,” believing it was the will of God.

Living With Eternal Intentionality®

What are some interruptions in your life right now that seem to interfere with what is important?

What interruptions might God be inviting you to make space for?

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Get to Know this amazing woman, Jayne Cuidon: Jayne, a mother of six, holds a doctorate in Educational Leadership with a focus on Third Culture Kid development. She and her husband Scott direct The Barnabas Zentrum (BZ), providing a retreat-based, holistic approach to spiritual and emotional health for those wearied or wounded on the front lines of ministry around the globe. Barnabas International

Debby Thompson

April 7, 2021

Call 911

Debby Thompson

April 7, 2021

The predawn light reminded me that my challenges were not just a bad dream. I was not waking up and walking into sunshine, lollipops, rainbows, and everything that’s wonderful. No. The pain that tucked me into bed kept an overnight vigil and now stood at my bedside shaking me to wake up.

With that gut-wrenching reality, the Holy Spirit immediately—supernaturally—turned my mind to my 911 verses. In sweet intimate companionship, He and I walked hand in hand through the truths, that have stood the test of time. And the truths that would get me through this day.

Sufficient grace

But he said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ's power may rest on me” (2 Corinthians 12:9).

Divine power

“His divine power has given us everything we need for a godly life through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness” (2 Peter 1:3).

Perfect peace

“You will keep him in perfect peace, Whose mind is stayed on You, Because he trusts in You” (Isaiah 26:3).

Constant protection

“But now, this is what the LORD says-- he who created you, Jacob, he who formed you, Israel: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers, they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; the flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior . . . ” (Isaiah 43:1-3a).

Morning mercies

“The LORD’S loving kindnesses indeed never cease, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Thy faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22-23)

Plans to prosper

'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the LORD, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope” (Jeremiah 29:11NASB).

Genuine Joy

“Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will be joyful in God my Savior” (Habakkuk 3:17-18).