Last week Pastor Matt began a new sermon series using the acronym R.E.A.L. For the first week he revealed that R is for relationships. He left us with something to think about: What are the things that are valuable to me right now; the things I work to experience everyday and am unwilling to live without? How is the return on those investments shaping my relationships?
These are challenging questions! Oftentimes, I do not look back at my day and think about how I spent my time. I don’t think about what I value and put a name or face to it. But when the end of the day does hit, am I satisfied? Have I done what I could to have my relationships in a good place? Am I right with God? Do my values and expectations line up with what I am investing my time in?
This week, Pastor Matt will reveal that the second letter ‘E’ is for engagements. How and where do we spend our time? This can reveal a lot about each one of us! It may be encouraging to think about how our time is spent. It may also be convicting and a little difficult to think about what we do with the limited time that God has gifted us with.
I know that when I get to the end of the day I am exhausted from chasing my 3 sons around and all I want to do is something mindless, like watch TV! This habit can easily go from watching 1 episode of a show to watching 3 or 4! The nights where I choose to listen to a podcast, read, or even just talk with my husband, are nights I feel refreshed and ready for a good night’s rest.
Am I using my time to invest in what is important to me? Does how I spend my time lineup with my values? Honestly? No. I have a deep desire for them to lineup and I am asking God to help me in this process. Part of this process for me has been to take an honest look at myself and how I spend my time. I have been working on a personal mission statement and am now working with Matt in developing a family mission statement. I am excited to put these thoughts into words and into a short mission statement for our family to focus on. My hope is that having a mission to focus on will help our family to always be thinking about how we spend our time and that we can work together to honor God with our time, passions, and gifts.
My prayer this week is that we will all take an honest look at our relationships and our engagements. Are we honoring God in these areas? Are we advancing His kingdom with our passions and giftings? May we allow Him to reveal these answers to us and may our response be action. Actions that lineup with God’s heart. Actions that delve us into the world around us but in ways that are different. May our light (Christ in us) be evident to the world around us!
"You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.” -Matthew 5:14-16
In Him,
Katie Karlson