Lists are one of my favorite things. I will make lists for just about everything.
There is the classic grocery list, two types of course. There is the one that gets made throughout the week as food gets consumed and there is the one that is made up spur of the moment just before going shopping.
There is the list of Christmas gifts. Every year I make lists of people and potential gifts and that eventually turns into a list of what has been purchased for my sweet friends.
There is the address list. Have you ever sent out invitations or announcements? It all starts with the list of people and then the list of addresses.
There is the list of preparation. Are you hosting an event or in charge of one? Need to make the list so no small (or large) detail is missed. Food? check. Decorations? check. Invites? check.
And then there is the to-do list. This is the one that applies to everyone on everyday. Sometimes, I feel like a to-do list could apply to the hour. For the mom's out there, it probably always includes laundry and dishes because those two things are never finished. Then there is always some sort of cleaning to be done. Vacuum the carpet. Wash the windows. Or maybe it is the dreaded, clean the bathroom.
My current to-do list often includes the following: read, work on online classwork, write a newsletter, write thank you's, complete reports, and other preparation tasks for this new endeavor. Sometimes I even put laundry, eat, and shower on there because life just gets that crazy at times. To be honest, I will probably need to start adding sleep to my lists.
One of the ways that Africa Inland mission has new missionaries prepare is working through study of concepts that fall into two categories: spiritual and cross-cultural. I get the privilege of meeting with a lady from my church to help me through this study. It has been such blessing to learn from her and process the information and apply it to what things may be like on the field. We usually take some time to discuss what God is showing us throughout the week. She mentioned to me that she puts what God is telling her on her to-do list. What a concept?!?!? In our busy, rushed, over scheduled lives we have to make a list of when to pick up kids and appointments of all kinds. We make lists of anything and everything to remind ourselves of what we need to do.
How often does our list include the things we truly need to be doing? The things that God wants us to do? If we are obeying Him, won't everything else fall into place?
If God wants you to work on patience, then put patience on your to-do list.
If God wants you to have more grace with your kids, then put grace on your to-do list.
If God wants you to be more grateful, then put gratefulness on your to-do list.
If God wants you to practice self-control then put self-control on your to-do list.
God may reveal areas in our lives that need growth or change. The growing and changing can't happen in a 20 minute Bible study and it won't happen in an hour on Sunday morning. These things need to be practiced daily until God shows us that our focus needs to move somewhere else.
I don't know about you but this concept has revolutionized my list making habits.
1. It forces me to take time to identify what God wants me to be doing.
2. It will regularly remind me of #1 so that I can keep it in the forefront of my mind.
I challenge you to reconsider what goes on your to-do list. Is there something that God wants you to be doing that you need to add? If you are not the list making type, then I encourage you to write down what God wants you to do and put it in common places like a mirror, where you keep your keys, the fridge, or the coffee area.
What's on your to-do list?
There is the classic grocery list, two types of course. There is the one that gets made throughout the week as food gets consumed and there is the one that is made up spur of the moment just before going shopping.
There is the list of Christmas gifts. Every year I make lists of people and potential gifts and that eventually turns into a list of what has been purchased for my sweet friends.
There is the address list. Have you ever sent out invitations or announcements? It all starts with the list of people and then the list of addresses.
There is the list of preparation. Are you hosting an event or in charge of one? Need to make the list so no small (or large) detail is missed. Food? check. Decorations? check. Invites? check.
And then there is the to-do list. This is the one that applies to everyone on everyday. Sometimes, I feel like a to-do list could apply to the hour. For the mom's out there, it probably always includes laundry and dishes because those two things are never finished. Then there is always some sort of cleaning to be done. Vacuum the carpet. Wash the windows. Or maybe it is the dreaded, clean the bathroom.
My current to-do list often includes the following: read, work on online classwork, write a newsletter, write thank you's, complete reports, and other preparation tasks for this new endeavor. Sometimes I even put laundry, eat, and shower on there because life just gets that crazy at times. To be honest, I will probably need to start adding sleep to my lists.
One of the ways that Africa Inland mission has new missionaries prepare is working through study of concepts that fall into two categories: spiritual and cross-cultural. I get the privilege of meeting with a lady from my church to help me through this study. It has been such blessing to learn from her and process the information and apply it to what things may be like on the field. We usually take some time to discuss what God is showing us throughout the week. She mentioned to me that she puts what God is telling her on her to-do list. What a concept?!?!? In our busy, rushed, over scheduled lives we have to make a list of when to pick up kids and appointments of all kinds. We make lists of anything and everything to remind ourselves of what we need to do.
How often does our list include the things we truly need to be doing? The things that God wants us to do? If we are obeying Him, won't everything else fall into place?
If God wants you to work on patience, then put patience on your to-do list.
If God wants you to have more grace with your kids, then put grace on your to-do list.
If God wants you to be more grateful, then put gratefulness on your to-do list.
If God wants you to practice self-control then put self-control on your to-do list.
God may reveal areas in our lives that need growth or change. The growing and changing can't happen in a 20 minute Bible study and it won't happen in an hour on Sunday morning. These things need to be practiced daily until God shows us that our focus needs to move somewhere else.
I don't know about you but this concept has revolutionized my list making habits.
1. It forces me to take time to identify what God wants me to be doing.
2. It will regularly remind me of #1 so that I can keep it in the forefront of my mind.
I challenge you to reconsider what goes on your to-do list. Is there something that God wants you to be doing that you need to add? If you are not the list making type, then I encourage you to write down what God wants you to do and put it in common places like a mirror, where you keep your keys, the fridge, or the coffee area.
What's on your to-do list?
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