Management Review

He was accused of wasting his possessions.

What is this I hear about you?

Give an account of your management.

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much.
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These are the questions that have been on my mind the last week.  Did you know those questions were taken from Luke 16?

I have taken some time to pause and review the kind of job I've been doing managing my resources.

It is interesting when you are not accountable to someone for the day to day activity that occurs.  It leaves a lot of things to chance.  For me, a lot of room to make excuses for why I do what I do.  Or, why I don't do what I don't do.

The fruit of your choices is always telling.  Do you see good fruit, bad fruit or a mixture of both?

I saw a mixture of both when I looked around. 

Bad Fruit.  That was the hard one to see.

I did not like thinking about that part because it indicated some flaws on my end.

Planning.  The word my preacher used on Sunday to describe someone who manages her time well.

You are either born a natural planner or you are not.  I was not born to be a natural planner.  I was born to throw dinner parties.  And yet, God is still calling me to discipline myself to learn this thing called planning.

When you are planning there are a couple of important things to remember. 

• The first question to ask is not, "What do I want to do today?"  The first questions is, "What do YOU want me to do today."  God has a purpose and plan for your time today.
• The next thing that is very important is not to compare yourself and your day to others.  God's plan for your day is not like any other womans.  It is yours alone.

You know that the enemy wants you to feel condemned on anything you are involved in.  If he can get your eyes focused on someone else in your life then he knows he's gotcha.  Let feelings of inadequacy and discontentment be your red flags that your eyes are on worldly things and not the LORD.

This has been on the forefront of my mind since my last post.  I'll share some practical ways it has played out.  Last week a friend called and she was redecorating her bathroom.  After we talked colors and fabrics and got off the phone, I thought, We oughta just load up the bus and go with her.  And that is exactly what we did.  Spur of the moment we went to Chick-fil-A, Pier One, Kohl's, Starbucks and  Targe'.  My boys skipped naps and my Mama tank got filled to the brim.  It was glorious!

Last night I had the chance to go to a dear friends house with a couple other dear friends and talk about homeschooling.  I wanted to go so bad because it was going to be thought provoking and a chance to hang out with 3 ladies I love to pieces.  I asked my husband what he thought about me going.  He pointed out that we only have two nights at home this week.

As hard as it was I honored his suggestion and stayed home.  We had the most restful night.  I was able to run to the store.  We rented a free Redbox.  Our entire family cuddled up under blankets by the fire to watch our movie.  We had a simple dinner and all went to bed early.

Today I feel rested.

Yesterday I hunkered down in the school room and got us organized and back on track from the Christmas break.  It was painfully hard.  Today we are caught up and back on track.

Being a good manager is not always a bed of roses.  Do the hard work.  Do the fun work.  Enjoy the end result.
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after i wrote this, look what was in my inbox in an email...
He said, 'Do what you should do, when you should do it, whether you feel like it or not.'"

He went on to say, "There are 999 other success principles that I have found in my reading and experience, but without self-discipline, none of them work."

Self-discipline is the key to personal greatness. It is the magic quality that opens all doors for you, and makes everything else possible. With self-discipline, the average person can rise as far and as fast as his talents and intelligence can take him. But without self-discipline, a person with every blessing of background, education and opportunity will seldom rise above mediocrity.