Making the Moments Count

Concentrate on doing your best for God, work you won’t be ashamed of, laying out the truth plain and simple. 2 Timothy 2:15

 God breathed life into us
 On the day of our first birth;
 Our lives are but a fleeting moment
 On this planet we call Earth.
  
 We can spend each moment
 Doing whatever we want;
 God's given us a free will
 While on our earthly jaunt. 
 
 But He wants much more for us,
 And calls us to be born again.
 When our lives revolve around Him, not us,
 Heaven is our gain.
 
 Make each moment count for God,
 Allow Him to guide your day;
 Keep your spirit tuned to Him,
 So you do not stray.
  
 Yes, our lives are fleeting,
 But through God's mercy and grace,
 And keeping our eyes on Jesus,
 We'll make this world a better place. 

I’m currently reading the book Crazy Love by Francis Chan. In it he discusses living a balanced life. It’s easy to be so wrapped up in life that we shut out God, most times unintentionally. It’s not that our activities are necessarily bad, but they can consume our time and thoughts to the point that we disregard God. When that happens, they become a distraction from God.

I’m a methodical person and function best with a schedule. On a typical day, I start with a devotion and prayer time. I do any chores in the morning and the afternoon is for fun-often times scrapbooking. The evenings are spent surfing the net and watching TV. Some days I can get so caught up in my activities that I lose track of time, not always including God in the day. God doesn’t expect us to spend every waking moment in quiet time with Him, but He does want to be part of our daily activities. So I thought about what that would look like on a typical day for me. Before I start the day, I can ask God to direct it and be ready for any change of plans I have set for the day. During chores I can thank God for all He has provided. While scrapbooking, I can pray for the people in the pictures and listen to praise music. I can put a time limit on computer time, and spend that time taking a walk outside, meditating on the scriptures from the devotions while enjoying God’s world. The point is to keep things in perspective. Live a balanced life. Make the moments in your day count for eternity, not just for the here and now.

How can I push past the distractions and make the moments of my day count for eternity?

• Keep my thought patterns in check: Am I obsessing over something I cannot control? Am I overly critical of myself or others? I can find Bible verses related to the situation to focus on instead.
• Check my actions and motives: If they are not beneficial, they’re not worth doing.
• Choose my words wisely: Even in a heated moment, my words can have a positive impact if they’re chosen wisely.
• Spend the day as if God is a visible guest in the house. It will be easier to include Him in my day if I visualize Him sitting beside me.

Making your moments count will not only make your own life richer and closer to God, but it will enrich the lives around you as well!

Lord, I know I can get easily distracted throughout the day. Help me to be more tuned into Your presence in all that I’m doing. Let all that I say and do have an impact for eternity as I make each moment count. Amen