Busyness and Stress v. You Round 2

How has God called you to use the time He’s given you? Key Question How has God called you to use the time He’s given you?

God has called you…to be busy! Sometimes a certain smell will take me back to when I was young, How come I'm never able to identify where it's coming from, But it would remind us of when nothing really mattered, Out of student loans and treehouse homes we all would take the latter. Wish we could turn back time, to the good ol' days, When our momma sang us to sleep but now we're stressed out. We used to play pretend, give each other different names, We would build a rocket ship and then we'd fly it far away, Used to dream of outer space but now they're laughing at our face, Saying, "Wake up, you need to make money." - Twenty One Pilots

God has called you…to be busy! “The Lord God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.” – Gen. 2:15 “You yourselves know how you ought to imitate us, because we were not idle when we were with you…but with toil and labor we worked night and day, that we might not be a burden to any of you…for even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.” - 2 Thess. 3:7-12

God has called you…to do the important things Key Principle: your busyness, how you use your time, is not forced upon you, it is a result of the choices you make.

God has called you…to do the important things “Instead of saying “I don’t have time” try saying “it’s not a priority,” and see how that feels. Changing our language reminds us that time is a choice. If we don’t like how we’re spending an hour, we can choose differently.” - Laura Vanderkam

God has called you…to do the important things “Mary sat at the Lord’s feet and listened to his teaching. But Martha was distracted with much serving. And she went up to him and said, ‘Lord, do you not care that my sister has left me to serve alone? Tell her then to help me.’ But the Lord answered her, Martha, Martha, you are anxious and troubled about many things, but one thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the good portion, which will not be taken away from her.” - Luke 10:38-42

God calls you…to handle time wisely Proverb #1: Know your limits For Jesus, praying alone, at times, was more important than healing a suffering person. Why? Know your limits. Your relationship with God and time to rest are essential if you are going to have the energy, wisdom, and grace to do the good things God calls you to do.

God calls you…to handle time wisely Proverb #2: Set Margins If you schedule every hour of your day completely full, you have no margin. One thing goes wrong, one distraction waylays you, your mom stops at the store on the way home and you weren’t expecting it, and suddenly you’re stressed, frantic, busy, busy, busy, and probably behind.

God calls you…to handle time wisely Proverb #3: Know what will refresh you Sleep refreshes us. Prayer is our power. In general, I find that relaxing watching youtube does not refresh me. The solution for busyness is not to be lazy for a while. We can relax at times, but don’t expect that to give you the strength you need to tackle your busyness.