"Time?! I just aint got it!"

"There is just not enough hours in the day!"

Have you caught yourself saying that? I know I have. I am pretty sure that I am safe to say that we ALL have said that. If not, really, on a daily basis. About 2 months ago I caught myself saying that and was stopped dead in my tracks when God, in the every so gentle voice he has, said this:

"Amanda....did I not create this day?"

ummm...WOW! God you are so right. Have you ever thought about that very thought my friend? Thought about the fact that God created the very day you live in? He created it with a dawn and a dusk. With a sun rise and a sun set. With a day and a night. He created it with 24 hours.

24 hours


"14 And God said, “Let there be lights in the vault of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark sacred times, and days and years, 15 and let them be lights in the vault of the sky to give light on the earth.” And it was so. 16 God made two great lights—the greater light to govern the day and the lesser light to govern the night." -Gen 1:14-16

When we think about 24 hours in themselves, it seems like a lot. But when all of the sudden there is "so much to do" 24 hours is not nearly enough. What more could you accomplish with 28 hours? 30 hours? Would you be "done" with everything with 40 hours in the day? Would you die by the 50th hour? And to top it off....not only do we get 24 hours in a day, but we get SEVEN days with those 24 hours. Is it so rough to say, "I will take care of that tomorrow?" ...sometimes...yeah.

Believe me, I am preaching to the choir. I am one busy person and I do not quite understand the idea of rest yet, but Im learning the beauty of it. I keep myself busy all the time. I am finally in a season where I have a day off. One day off...but it's a start. I havn't had a day off in 4 years. I look back on it and think how crazy I was, I am!

I remember the night that I was diagnosed with Cancer. I was laying in bed after having a couple of hours to think about it and let it sink in. I remember the thought crossing through me mind, "I don't have time for Cancer." HAHAHA! WHAT?! WHO THINKS THAT?! You don't have time for Cancer? Well, Cancer doesn't stop because you are busy.

Let that thought sink in. "Life does not stop because you are busy."

What are we missing because we don't have time to notice it or see it?

Last week I challenged you to see God in the small things. How did that work out?

Life does not stop because you are busy.

Your kids are not going to stop growing up because you are busy. Your family holidays are not going to be lived again because you are busy. Special events in your life such as graduations, weddings, funerals, birthdays...NONE of them are going to be lived again because you were busy.

I think God put 24 hours in a day on purpose.

I mean look at us now. We cram everything we can into those 24 hours...sometimes not even acknowledging the One who created this day.

When I walked through my cancer...it was a forced rest. And I couldn't WAIT to get the heck out of it. It was hard. It was hard to force myself to rest, because my body needed it. Still needs it today. God showed me a lot during that time and is showing me more every day about rest. How he created it. How he desires it. I forced myself out of it early and I pay the consequences for that daily in pain and a longer healing time.

But that forced rest is what started my real journey with the "Kickdrum Trees". I realized that I was living life hour by hour, trying to get as much done as I could, I was missing out on the little things. How much of God's creation had I passed by without the acknowledgement that it was even there?

"This is the day that YOU have made...I will rejoice and be glad in it." -Ps. 118:24

What would our life look like if we started each day with a prayer, "LORD, this is YOUR day. Not mine. Lead me. Walk with me. Give me wisdom on how to spend it. And may every minute be glorifying for you."

I have heard a story before, and was reminded of it by a coffee with a dear woman in my life. This man said, "I spend the first hours of my day with God, because I know if I don't, i will get busy and won't do it at all." I think in some sense, he gets it. He knows that the most important thing about his day is his time with the Lord. Now i am not saying you HAVE to spend time with the Lord in the morning. That is not what this is about...but it IS about the time we do or do not dedicate to him.

That is kinda like saying, "Mom...you made this wonderful dinner, however, you can not have any of it...because I have plans for it."


Don't worry friends...I am trying to figure it out too. But these are the thoughts in my head.

24 Hours

Some questions I have been challenged to ask myself. Maybe you can too?

-How am I spending my time?
-Am I missing out on anything God has for me because I am rushing?
-Am I using wisdom in the way I spend my time?
-Is anything that shouldn't be suffering, suffering because I am to busy? (family, kids, friends, ect.)

Let's slow down this week. Let's be ABLE to notice the "KickdrumTrees" in our life because we did.

Lord,

I pray for my friends and myself this week. God teach us what it means to rest. Teach us what is means to slow down. When we are rushing, speak gently to our hearts and remind us that you are here with us. Lord give us grace for the things we are committed to...give us the wisdom of Balance. Lord, challenge us in the way we spend our day and may every decision and thing we put our hand to honor and glorify you. May we be able to see you in small things this week Lord. Thank you for creating the 24 hours we get every day Lord. Thank you for each sun rise and each sun set. May each we live be the beginning and end to a day that pleases you.

We love you Lord.