Day 7 - of 30 Days to a Simplier Life

Today I am stealing a little from a Joyce Meyer's show that I watched a couple days ago. It was just so in line with our Simplify your Life Blog that I thot it would make a great post. So here is our next suggestion on how to simplify your life.

Slow Down.......
Wow, what a thot! Is it ok to do that?

Here are a few points to consider and a few questions to ask yourself:

• Are there any area or areas that are out of balance in your life?
• What is really important in your life and is that where you are putting your time?
• What are you spending so much time doing that isn't that important in the big picture of your life?
  

1 Peter 5:8 says, "Be well balanced (temperate, sober of mind), be vigilant and cautious at all times; for that enemy of yours, the devil, roams around like a lion roaring [[a]in fierce hunger], seeking someone to seize upon and devour."

We live in a society and a culture where we get our worth and value out of being busy. It is like a badge of honor to tell how busy we are. I'm not saying we should be unproductive or lazy because going to either extreme is not healthy or good for us but I think most people go toward the - being unbalanced in the busyness side of life.

So here are some thots on busyness: (these were Joyce's points)

• To much excess in any area is an open door for the devil.
• Out of balanced people get mad and angry at balanced people
  
• Workaholics get angry at people who enjoy life
• When we are always in a hurry we miss the important things in life

The older you get the more you realize your time is limited, so you don't want to waste your days on things like being angry or bitter, trying to impress people, feeling sorry for yourself, doing things that you feel compelled to do out of guilt. I don't think we fully grasp this in our 20's, 30's and possibly even 40's but I think as you enter into your 50's you begin to view life differently and you want to make every moment and every day count. You don't want to waste time on things that are not important or do not add value to your or others lives.

The most important place you can put your time is in the relationships in your life:

First - with God - spending time with Him, reading His Word, worshipping Him.
Second - Yourself - get to know yourself, do some self evaluation, ask yourself what areas you need to change in - watch how your behavior is affecting other people and does that need to change.
Third - Others - family, friends, co-workers.......

One last little point. One way to begin to slow down and withdraw from the hurry in life is to "Honor the principle of the Sabbath"

In Exodus 20:8 it says, [Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God).
I believe that we need to have a day a week that we really do pull back from life. A Day that you are doing something for you or for your family.

Take some time this week to seek the Lord to get His take on what your personal weekly Sabbath should look like.

Here is a great article about the Sabbath: http://www.churchsolutionsmag.com/articles/honoring-the-sabbath-its-not-a-suggestion.html