An Extra Day

February 29th! It almost never happens.  Well, I guess it does happen on a regular basis, but a day that only appears on the calendar once every four years, is decidedly rare.  So what do you do with an extra day?  Do you relax, escape the humdrum demands of your overfilled calendar, or do you use the time to catch up on those things that have spilled over from yesterday's To-Do List?
Realistically, an extra day in a month that is shorter than the rest doesn't really seem to impact us that much.  An extra day in an over-packed week, now that would be a blessing! Or even a couple of extra hours in a day that is so full that it seems impossible to get it all done, might be nice.
I guess the moral of the story is that we could all use a little more time.  The Bible encourages us to "number our days" so that our hearts can apply themselves to wisdom.  Translation? Examine our lives so that we can learn to use our time wisely and for those things that have the most eternal benefit.  I've heard it said that no one has ever said as they were lying on their deathbed, "I wish I had spent more time at the office."  Time, invested in our family and friends, in our relationship with God, and in enjoying the fruits of our labors, is never wasted.  So let's decide to use wisely ever second, minute, day, week, month and year that God has blessed us with in order to love and serve Him.  And who knows, maybe every once in a while, He'll give us an extra day.

I Live In The Country

Isn’t it amazing how one little thing can change your whole perspective?  I love being a small town pastor.  My schedule is pretty flexible, I get to have personal interaction with a wide variety of people and I get to witness the splendor of God’s creation every morning as I make my way across Honey Creek bridge.  This week has been fun.  Monday and Tuesday, my day started early with breakfast and discipleship with two of the young guys in our church.  Last night, Shelley and Chelsea and I had dinner with a family that is considering joining and had a wonderful time of fellowship. This morning, I had an early breakfast meeting at the Hospital with the director of the Volunteer Chaplaincy Program, so as I left the house, the sky was just beginning to get lighter, but the sun wasn’t close to cresting the horizon yet.  As I stepped out of my front door into the early morning calm, I heard it faintly in the distance, a rooster crowing.  For the first time in the two years that we have lived in our house, I heard the sound that identifies for me that I really do live in the country.  I just had the discussion last night about how much I love where we live because it is far enough out of Grove to be peaceful and quiet, and yet we can still get to WalMart in about three and a half minutes.

But this morning, I realized that I do live IN THE COUNTRY. 

Okay, so this might not be such an earth-shaking fact to most of you, but to me it was an eye-opener.  In my mind, ‘the country’ has always brought to mind peaceful feelings, calm, a slower pace, the joys of childhood memories at my grandparents house in East Texas.  My everyday life, even at the slower pace that a small town pastorate offers compared to pastoring a church in Oklahoma City, still seems pretty hectic.  I get to the office and fill out my To Do List for the day and wonder how I am going to get it all done.  But just hearing that simple, far-off sound as I left my front door this morning reminded me that peace and calm are not that far away.  As a matter of fact, I can find them on my own front porch.

I think that sometimes we get so focused on the swirling of the waters all around us that we forget to take a few moments to peacefully float down the river and take in the scenery.  At this moment, two hours later, I find myself in my office, To Do List all filled out for the day, ready to get started on what this day requires.  But the memory of that brief moment in the still of the morning, gives me assurance that I can handle whatever comes, and when the day is over, I can make my way back out to my home in the country and the peace and calm that it brings. Thank you, Lord.