Tag: time

Who Do I Want to Become?

Jennifred Jones

Lots of talk – even in my talk. Who am I? Where am I going? What should I do?

I think our first question should be – who do I want to become? This will open the door to see where we are going, what direction to take.

Look at your present state as your starting place – not a permanent situation you are always trying to escape from. See it as the start. Like in a race, the gate is behind you. The whole lane, field, world is ahead of you waiting for you to run through it and to it.

The ‘being’ will lead to the ‘doing’.

Once we decide who we want to be, we can figure out the steps we need to take…the path to get on…the lane to drive in… what exits to get off or on.

Again, this takes self-introspection. You are unique. Each of us are. We have to assess our likes, dislikes, skills, talents, abilities. We have to take notice of ourselves. Not in a comparative way, but in a curious way. What do I have to bring value to this world? How am I crafted?

This is not being selfish. This is part of self-development and necessary for growth.

Right now I’m thinking of horse whisperers. The whisperer has to go quietly and slowly around the horse to understand it and for the horse to understand them.  There is a lot of listening involved. This is how they begin their communication. Time. Patience. Listening. Observing. Repeat. Repeat. Repeat.

We need to do this with ourselves. Tune out everybody, everything and learn how you’re crafted…not what someone else tries to tell us how you’re made. Too often others try to tell you how you should be when they themselves don’t know who they are or what they are doing. Don’t fall for letting another person manage your life!

What is one aspect I want more to become?

Be a Laborer #3

Jennifred Jones

Time! I don’t have time! I don’t have enough time! Hurry up! Time is of the essence! Stop wasting time! You can’t reclaim your time! This project is taking too much time!!!

I cannot do a good job, it will take too much time…

Ever heard/said these words?

I have. Over and over and over and over from others and in my own mind. What is the big RUSH? We need time. Time was made for us. It will not run out. We are not living against a timer set to go off if we don’t ‘finish in time’.

Good work takes time. It takes time to think, to plan, to do a task and to do it well.

Living against the time machine causes us to cut corners, do inferior work, use inferior tools, make inferior product, treat people less importantly, treat ourselves less valuably and on and on and on…

Practically every job listing states…’fast paced environment’! Why even say that? How about, ‘quality workmanship required here’?

To do your work well, to come up with good ideas, to think of ways for improvement, it is going to take time! We have got to stop feeling guilty for taking time and using it in a good way. We all work at different paces; however the emphasis needs to be on good, quality workmanship. It’s not wrong to do something, not like it and do it again…better! That is not wasting time!

Another saying…’a job worth doing is worth doing well’. and it takes time to do it well.

Don’t regret the time it takes for your good work. Concentrate on the work and your effort. Time will take care of itself!

  • What time restraints are you putting needlessly on  yourself?
  • What tasks do you need to slow down to thoroughly complete?
  • What condemning thoughts need to be dismissed in relation to your time?

I am asking myself these same questions.

Let’s labor ahead together to do good work, taking all the time needed and feel good about the product we are producing.

Hurry! Hurry!! Hurry!!! Is God in a Hurry?

Jennifred Jones

Jesus was never in hurry.  God is not in a hurry. Why are we?

I’m not talking about being lazy, overly laid back, procrastinating, and indecisive.  I’m talking about the nagging feeling that we have got to hurry up with this, and hurry up with that. We’ve got to rush to get this done so we can rush to get the next thing done.

We nag our kids and ourselves to push, push, push to accomplish more and faster and quicker until we’re running around in a fit of nervous energy most of the time and can’t concentrate long enough on any one thing to do it well, or see if there might be a better way to do it, or, horror of horrors, if it even needs to be done at all!!!

Is this you? It has been me! …too many times!!!

A little voice inside my head tells me to hurry when I’m washing the dishes, to hurry when I’m trying to organize something,  to hurry when I’m trying to learn something new, to hurry even when I’m doing something relaxing! What is going on?

God made the world and everything in it. He made it so it takes time for a tree to grow; it takes time for a baby to develop…9 long months before it is ready to face the outside world; it takes 20 years to grow up and then some more to mature, and just to gain some wisdom and understanding, you’re not going to gain it by a one evening sitting– reading Wikipedia or a self-help book.

Yes, everything takes time. It takes time to think! Allow it to happen and don’t feel guilty. It takes time to think things through to get the right perspective and understand what you want to do, be, have, help, become, encourage, start, finish. Don’t give in to the ‘hurry’ bug. Don’t give in to its bite!

It takes time to read a story to your kids. Enjoy it and make it interesting and fun for them. It takes time to remember and tell a family story from your childhood to pass on that memory to the next and the next generation. Do it. And do it well. You’re building. You’re building something lasting.

The hardest, sturdiest trees grow the slowest. The white oak and the black walnut, both prized for their quality dense wood, so excellent for woodworking,  grow at a slow pace, taking many years…no shortcuts. Some rings are narrower than others showing a dry summer that year, but the tree kept at it steadily and soon another better year came along and the tree grew more.

The trees that grow the quickest, the softwoods, don’t have a lot of stability and cannot be used on big projects; they can’t support the stress needed to accomplish the job. They have bigger pores in their grain and are not as smooth, and a big wind will blow them right over.

Let growth happen, a little here, a little there. Don’t be in a big rush about it. Let God do His slow but steady, time-consuming yet sure work in you and in your family.

It will get done, it just takes time!