"An absent-minded husband thought he had conquered his problem of forgetting his wife's birthday and their anniversary. He opened an account with a florist, and gave instructions to send flowers to his wife on these dates along with a note signed, ""Your loving husband.""
His wife was thrilled by this new display of attention and all went well until next year on their anniversary, when he came home, kissed his wife and said, ""Nice flowers, honey. Where'd you get them?""
At least the husband had good intentions. He would have done better though if he would have also put a reminder in his electronic organizer or dayplanner. Whenever you get a new calendar or organizer make it a point to enter family dates right away. If you use an electronic organizer, simply schedule the event to automatically repeat each year and give you a reminder the day before as well.
God wants us to remember those closest to us. Setting automatic reminders to do so will redeem the time.
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"A museum did a study over a 10 year period to determine how long the average visitor spent looking at an object. The first study the determined the average was about 9 seconds. 10 years later however the study revealed the average person spent about 3 seconds actually looking at museum objects.
That study reveals volumes about our attention span. Fast action entertainment, electronic games and dumb down education have combined to create a “3 second” culture. More times than not, we as Christians have also been effected by it.
That’s why it is a good idea to keep in mind what your own attention span is when planning your schedule. Keeping activities within those limits and planning adequate variety can be a good strategy to keep you alert.
But on the other hand, keep in mind that developing a longer attention span is also in keeping with God’s plan for developing character and depth of thought in your life. Knowing your attention span limits and learning to improve them will redeem the time.
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"Anyone can count the number of seeds in an apple. But only God can count the number of apples in a seed. By that I mean, only God can see the final end of the little things He is calling you to do today. Only God can accurately see the future.
That’s why the wisest plan for using our time has to be centered and focused on following God and His plan for our lives. Our tendency is to think short term. “What will give me the most immediate pleasure?” or “What will bring me the most recognition?” God’s plan however is just the opposite. His way focuses on the long term. It asks, “What will bring the greatest result at the end of my earthly journey?” or “What can I do today that will make the greatest difference in eternity?”
Stay open to the Lord today. Yield your schedule to Him. The “little things” He may want you to do, could be the seeds that will someday yield much fruit and redeem the time.
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"There are exactly 216 noodles in a can of Campbell’s Chicken Noodle Soup. Not 215, not 217, but exactly 216 noodles.
I don’t know how Campbell’s came to the conclusion they needed exactly 216 noodles, but I’d guess it was the result of much experimentation, trial, and error. And that’s the same way you’ll learn how to manage your time better, by consciously experimenting with what works best in your situation.
For example, how can you streamline your Sunday morning routine to reduce stress and get everyone to church on time and in a frame of mind to worship God? Are there other routes you can take to work during rush hour? How much work can you delegate to your assistant so you can focus on more pressing matters? Is your kitchen arranged so that you can reach the most commonly used items quickly?
Remember, trial and error makes for good soup, but it’s also a very important part of learning to redeem the time.
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