Take Time to be Holy

A new year. A new beginning.

What are your goals for 2019?  A raise in pay? A promotion? More travel to exotic places? Increasing our time with God?

If the last isn't one goal, if not the top, for us, it should be.

How do we do this? 
Life is hectic. Work, school, our homes and families are just the tip of the ice burg for many of us. It's hard to find time to read our Bibles and throw a thirty-second prayer toward heaven. But, as christians, we must!

"Draw near to God and He will draw near to you."

James 4:8

So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; and that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled up to all the fullness of God.                                                                                                                             Ephesians 3:17-19

I don't believe in setting goals for someone else. What one person might be able to do--say, spend five minutes in prayer and read five verses of the Bible could just very well do them as much good--if not more--than the person who reads three chapters and spends thirty minutes in prayer. We all must determine what is best for us.

But I would ask, is it too much to consider increasing our time with God? Only you can know the answer to that. Only you can decide how this year will go for you spiritually. Let us do our best!

About Carole:

Besides being an active participant in many writing groups, Carole is an award-winning author and enjoys mentoring beginning writers. She loves to weave suspense, tough topics, romance, and whimsy into her books and is always on the lookout for outstanding titles and catchy ideas. She and her husband reside in SE Ohio but have ministered and counseled nationally and internationally. Together, they enjoy their grandsons, traveling, gardening, good food, the simple life, and did she mention their grandsons? 

Personal blog: http://sunnebnkwrtr.blogspot.com/

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Word Sharpeners: https://wordsharpeners.wordpress.com/

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Time

 

Time.

It can move so slowly or streak past in a blur, depending on our circumstances and perspective.
My second book, releasing in January of 2015, is titled Worth the Time, so I've been thinking about time a lot lately.

How I waste it.
How precious it is.

I don't want to waste this gift, a season to live for Jesus, bringing glory to His name.
Yet I do.

At night, I reflect on the day before I go to sleep and too many nights, I can't think of one thing of eternal value that I did that day.

Here are a few scriptures about time. They're taken from the ESV.

Ephesians 5:15-17

Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of time, because the days are evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.

Colossians 4:4-6

That I may make it clear, which is how I ought to speak. 5 Walk in wisdom towards outsiders, making the best use of time. 6 Let your speech always be gracious, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how you ought to answer each person.

I've seen on Facebook and Instagram people using the hashtags #100HappyDays, which asks people to look for something that makes them happy for 100 days straight. I haven't participated yet, but I'm thinking I might, not necessarily to think of things that make me happy but things that show I appreciate the time God has given me, that I'm focused on using it for His glory.

Things like the picture at the top, which is at a restaurant near my house. My friend from birth and I had a great dinner there, laughing as we watched the sun set.

I don't want to take a second for granted.

How do you capture the gift of time? Are you a person who documents each moment or do you silently soak them all in? Do you make lists for your time or take each day as it comes?

**To answer my own questions, I like to document the moments, and sometimes I plan and sometimes I ride the wave of the day.

Laura Jackson loves Jesus, books, trees, and the Houston Rockets. She lives in a suburb of Houston,
where she works as a school librarian during the day and writes Christian YA books by night. You can find her at http://authorlaurajackson.blogspot.com/.