I wake up in the morning,

All the things there on my mind.

I start my day to afternoon,

The things still filling my time.

Directing and executing,

Marching in steady rhyme.

Things that have my attention,

Are the only things I’m looking to find.

Well into the evening,

The day’s slowing into recline.

All the things that were minded,

Find a place to now unwind.

What are these things I’m minding?

Is there purpose in their design?

Are these gifted hours just slipping by,

In culture’s flow that is not mine?

Daily busy is a distracting thief,

When I allow it to define.

The things that I am minding,

Without minding what’s left behind.

Wendi Maddox

Author’s Look~

As runners in this human race, we all struggle with this thing, called TIME. It’s the boundary that we operate within and try to balance “all of the things” in our world, from morning to night and everything in between. Everyone has a different set up in how these hours are used, but each of us knows, just how quickly these hours can slip away, and must be mindful of how we are using them.

Purpose

The goal we shoot for is the heart purpose we hope for, and yet so many times we can so easily be carried away in the flow of a day with all of the busy that does not point toward that purpose. We have bills to pay, relationships to maintain and a human body that needs to rest. On the start of a day, the motion begins to propel us to the next thing, the next thing, the next thing, and before we know it, the day is over. It’s done. We didn’t mean to spend it in the overflow of “all the things”, but somehow managed to do so without calling the shots in true purpose from a spirit directed heart.

Things

I’m using this word loosely to cover so many possibilities, because we all know just exactly what those “things” are for us. We can truly be busy, while not being busy with the right things, or not being busy at all and waisting time just chilling out. You know the drill . . .binge watching, scrolling, watching other peoples lives instead of living our own. There is MUCH that could be said on that, but I digress. This is not about one or the other, it is about have a realization of just what it is that we are using our time for in the balance of work and rest. What THINGS have precedent in your mind?

Romans 8:5-6 (ESV). . .For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit set their minds on the things of the spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace.

Mindset

Our time management begins with our mindset. Review a few days and it will become clear from where your heart operates and where your mind is set. There is only one answer here for freedom and fulfillment, and the scripture says it. . .to set the mind on the spirit is life and peace. Isn’t that a true destination we strive for?

It takes a mind that is SET and determined to rise above, to put a plan into action, one step at a time, for change that is everlasting. Sensitivity to the Spirit will direct your actions when your mind is on things other than the flesh and flow of world.

If you don’t feel that your mind is set in the right place today, having that realization is a great start. We can’t change what we don’t know. Begin today, to make a change in the way you mind your “things”. Give real effort to a change of mind, and a change of heart will soon follow. Mind the things that have true value both here and now and in life eternal with God.

Real life and responsibilities will continue on the daily, but when done with a mind of the spirit, there will be purpose found in moments of that time, and desire to use that time wisely. We all have many things to mind.

Mind Your Things With Purpose!