What Do I Do In My Free Time?

Well, the results are in. I'm not sure I like them. Now, something I want to be clear about: I'm not changing my numbers to make me look "good." I know a higher authority than man that I will report to for my actions. That includes this blog. A few things to explain on how I calculated my numbers: I only counted FREE time. I did not count my time at work, eating or sleeping(I allowed myself 7 hours of time for sleep each night. Any extra time sleeping I did factor in as Personal Time because I was choosing to sleep as a free time activity.) These numbers are all approximate. I didn't need every single second to get a feel for how I am spending my time. Also, this study is from Monday-Thursday, so its only a part of a week, but it was still good.

God Time = Time I spend reading my Bible, praying, or volunteering for God.

Family Time = Time I spent with my family instead of doing my own thing.

Personal Time = Time I spent doing things for me. (Watching TV, Playing Xbox, etc.)

Here are the numbers for my last week:

I had 10 hours of free time. I'll put them in order from the most time spent to the least time spent.

Family Time = 5 Hours

Personal Time = 3 Hours

God Time = 2 Hours

Ouch. Now, I can make all kinds of excuses for this. Like I spend a lot of time in the Bible studying for Youth Lessons and church on Sunday, but that isn't the same as chosen time with God. Or that I had a particularly busy week, but this was a typical week for me. They are all busy. No, I wanted an honest assessment of my free time and that is what I got. Doesn't matter that it was only 10 hours, what matters is that God is at the bottom of that list. I see 3 hours that I could have spent with God, but didn't. Looks like its time for a change.

Back to Crossroads

15 minutes...

For the past few weeks I have been filling out time analysis sheets for my job. Essentially, I have to write down what I am doing for every 15 minute block of the day. Now, I am not upset by this, nor was it done to try and expose any down time I had. It was just something they asked me to do. I have to say, on my end it was a learning experience and really good for me as well.

I got to see how much time I actually spent on each area of my job. How much time I spent updating a website or see specifically that it took me 1 hour to do a mail out. It really shows where you are spending most of your time.

It got me thinking, "What if I did this for my personal life? Where would most of my time be spent? Would I be happy with the end result?" Its a fact that where you spend your resources (time, money, whatever) is where your heart is. Am I ready to see where I am investing my time? I am going to do this next week. I'm not counting my work time, I am taking a time analysis of my free time. My goal is not to change what I am currently doing, but rather just write down what I am doing. Next Friday, I'll let you know the result. Anyone care to do this with me? (I won't publish your results if you choose to participate, that would just be cruel!) It won't be easy or fun, but then again self IMPROVEMENT rarely is.

Teach us to number our days carefully so that we may develop wisdom in our hearts.

-Psalm 90:12

Back to Crossroads

I’m not scalping...

A few days ago I took the youth to a Chris Tomlin & TobyMac concert. It was a lot of fun! We had a great spot, about 15 feet from the stage! It was one of the best concerts I have been to in a long time.

Due to some of the youth not being able to go, I wound up with extra tickets. I called some friends who I thought would enjoy the concert and could go last minute, but I still wound up with extra. After some thought and discussion with the people there, I decided just to give the tickets away.

Now, like I said, these were great “seats.” They were on the floor right in front of the stage. Not cheap seats. So, I took up position a bit away from the entrance and was holding the tickets in plain view. As people came up to go into the concert, I would just ask, “Do you have tickets yet?” I was a bit shocked as most people would say, “Yes.” Then I would watch these people walk up and get in line at the ticket booth.

Now, I am not known for being the smartest person all the time. In fact there are many times something can be staring me right in the face and I’ll miss it. “What in the world?” I thought to myself. “Why are they doing that?” Then I realized what was going through their mind. “Can you believe the nerve of that guy? Scalping tickets at a Christian concert!”

So, I decided to change my tactic. I walked right up to where people standing in line to buy tickets and started my conversations with a new statement: “Hi, I’m not scalping. I have extra tickets I am giving away. Anyone interested?”

The looks I got from the people there, some of the same people who walked by me and said they had tickets, was priceless. They looked confused, skeptical, and disbelieving. Finally, after one of those great awkward silences, this guy walked up and said, “Do you have 6 together?” “ Sure do!” I said. “Here ya go.” He took them and asked where they were. “Right up front, on the floor.” I answered. Almost everyone in line turned back around as I said that. It didn’t take long for me to run out of tickets then. Two teenage girls even hugged me as I gave them tickets for them and their parents. Unfortunately, I did run out and had to tell a few people that I didn’t have anymore.

The whole experience got me thinking, “I wonder if this is why some people won’t accept Jesus Christ as their Savior. Does it all sound just too good to be true? Is it too hard to believe that it is free? That someone else already paid the price for our gift?”

If you haven’t accepted Jesus Christ as your Savior because you think its just too good to be true, I urge you to just accept the free gift of His forgiveness and salvation. Don’t put it off thinking that His grace is not enough or that the gift of salvation costs too much. The the reason those of us who are redeemed do all that we do for Jesus Christ is because we want to, not to pay for what Jesus gave us.

Salvation is free.

If you believe with your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus Christ is Lord, you will be saved.

In Christ,

jon walton