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For God that is.  Today’s reading in my perpetual calendar relates to Numbers 1:1 where God came to speak to Moses and issue instructions.

The calendar writer suggests that if we’re too busy to do the things we know that God wants us to do then we are busier than He intended for us to be.  We need to consider what should we be doing in order to honour God with our use of time.

I haven’t written here for awhile and you may, or may not, be aware that’s because my husband and I lost a daughter late last year.  I’ve slowly been picking up the regular activities in my life again but it hasn’t always been easy and I often find myself wasting time doing nothing.  That isn’t normal for me – I’m one who always likes to keep busy.  And I often find myself feeling guilty for not being as busy as I used to be or as busy as I think I should be.

Conversations with two of the Pastors from my church during my time of grieving have indicated that I should be taking time out for myself and that I shouldn’t be pushing too hard. That I’m allowed this time of reflection, sorrow, thinking, staring into space and not being as productive as ‘normal’.

Perhaps I need to establish a new ‘normal’.  Not long before we lost our daughter I had determined to spend more time with all of our daughters, whenever their time permitted. Since her death I’ve also been spending more time out in the open instead of my office, using a new digital SLR camera my husband gave me for Christmas.  I have begun to appreciate (all over again) the beauty of the nature of God outside and capturing that in photo images.  And part of that time has included having this daughter or that daughter come along with me on my photo shoots in the parks and wildlife areas, some of which have now been touched by the awful bushfires we’ve been having in Victoria, Australia.

You might like to see some of my photos by clicking on the image below.

God, too busy, honouring God, grief, reflection

A recent discussion with my husband made me realise just how much people who work behind the scenes are not recognised or even ’seen’.  And there are times when they do need to be acknowledged, especially at times they are hurting.

We’d been having a discussion with our Pastor and his wife about a family matter and they were asking about things they knew I’d been doing (my new book being one of those things) but they didn’t have a point of reference for asking my husband about things he does.  They did ask about his job but because it’s very ‘techy’ it tends to go over most people’s heads.

I’m very proud of my husband and although I don’t understand all the technical aspects of all he does I do appreciate and understand that there is a lot that people all over our country use online and via phone which my husband plays a part in making sure works properly.

At church once again my husband is someone who works behind the scenes. He operates a TV camera on roster or works the CCU (Camera Control Unit) which is completely outside of the auditorium and not visible to anyone in the church. There he monitors the camera activity on 4 screens and has a big panel board of switches and controls, ensuring that the services are being recorded to DVD with correct lighting, sound and other aspects of recording.

What he does is important to the end result of being able to produce a DVD and down loadable video from the church website so that those who could not attend the services for whatever reason can still watch the services from their computers at home or work.

Whilst it’s important we don’t blow up the importance of who we are and what we do, the reality is there are always going to be people in the front line who are visible to the public and get a large portion of acknowledgement for what they do.  We need to remember though, those who work behind the ‘front line’ and frequently ‘behind the scenes’ and are not visible but all the same still very important, so that the whole picture of what takes place is seen and appreciated.

In Corinthians 12:12-31 we are told about how we’re all part of one body made up of many parts. And that no one part is more important than the other. Think about how our eyes and ears and mouth are more visible to others and that many pay attention to how we look or use those visible portions of our bodies. But what about our mind, our hearts, and those internal organs that are not visible but just as important and possibly even more so, in order for us to operate?  Often people are assessed on ‘face value’ at first meeting and it’s often not till a relationship has been developed over a period of time that the lesser seen aspects of someone (their heart, their mind, etc) become something more visible to the unseen eye.

At our church they have a monthly event called ‘unsung heroes’ where they do applaud those who work behind the scenes in the church and make sure those who are usually invisible to the congregation at large are recognised for the part they play in helping our church to run smoothly.

Have you considered who are ‘behind the scenes’ and are ‘unsung heroes’ at your church, or your workplace or even perhaps amongst your friends and family?  These people don’t seek the limelight but deserve to be recognised, and particularly if it’s at a time when something has happened in their lives and they need extra special care.  Why not think about that today and pay someone some special attention just because of who they are?

Our senior pastor has been preaching a series on ‘church without walls’ but I hadn’t thought about it a great deal in my own daily activities.   I had thought about it with respect to reaching out to local community and outside of our church building but let me explain what I mean.

Recently some friends of ours at church were unwell and the wife had been in hospital.  I received a call from our church office asking if I’d be willing to make a meal for their family.  I accepted quickly and was delighted I’d been asked.  Whilst I’ve been involved in leadership and departmental activities I’d never been asked to take on a pastoral role like this one before and I was thrilled at the prospect.  Such a simple thing to do but it means so much to those who have need.   For me it was a short-term commitment and because I was home and available, it was easy to organise.

When I delivered the meal I didn’t want to stay long and intrude on the family but I was invited in to chat with the husband and wife for a time. They were delighted to see me and very grateful for what I’d brought them.  They asked me how my business was going and I told them about some recent events that had taken place.  And then Janet said something that I later repeated to my husband and didn’t fully comprehend until I said it.  She said ‘Some women return home to escape from the outside world.  You returned home to reach the world’.

Graham and I discussed this and he said he felt that Janet often had very insightful comments.   It is true that through my business, my writings and through speaking at churches and seminars that I have reached many, many people and yet that had not been my goal or my intention when I first came back home to work over 14 years ago.  I was fed up with the corporate world and was anxious to be home for our 5 daughters.  But God turned that into something far beyond my dreams.  All those years of experience, trial and tribulation have brought with it lessons I can share with others.

As mentioned above, our senior pastor has been preaching a series on ‘church without walls’ and I can truly say that through my working at home, and in sharing with and caring for others online I have truly reached out beyond my own walls.

As you are reading this right now it means you have internet access.  How many people do you think you can reach and touch through the ministry that God has planned for you?

Matt 7:7 For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. (NLT)

More and more I get this ‘urgent’ need to write – something that has entered my mind and won’t go away.  I should really know by now that it’s a prompting from the Spirit, shouldn’t I?

On my VA blog this week I wrote a post about ‘what you think about, you’re drawn towards’ and it was about being focussed on things that will help you towards your goal.  I’ve touched on that subject here before, when writing about The Law of Attraction earlier this year.

I was pleased with the post I’d written but didn’t receive as many comments for it as I have for others I’ve written.  However, a couple of days later I received an email from a lady who was very nervous about making contact with a man who had asked her to ring.

She just happened to read my blogpost before making that call and it ended up being a very successful connection with her gaining a brand new client.  She wanted to share with me how that post had really boosted her and given her the courage and confidence she needed.  I realised afterward that I had indeed been following the prompting of the Spirit and written something that was intended for someone else.  I just love that when it happens!

Do you ever feel like you just can’t get it all done but you’re not sure what to do about it?  I’ve been like that lately, lots of stuff crowding in – work stuff. I love what I do but there’s so much coming at me lately that sometimes I feel like I don’t know what to grab next.

I get regular daily devotionals via email and also have a perpetual calendar on my desk in front of my computer monitor, with daily scripture and commentary.

Two of these bible messages and a chance question from a prospective client made me realise that God has been trying to get a message to me – I just needed to listen.

That’s when I had my sudden revelation, an epiphany. Here I am, a Virtual Assistant of many years standing and I own and run a network of VAs. But I was still trying to do everything myself!  It’s a matter of control and learning to let go and delegate.

A few nights ago I had dinner with a woman who was insisting that I look after her, rather than one of my team members.   She’d been referred to me and the person who referred her spoke very highly of my abilities. That’s all well and good but when you’re stretched to the limit, you really just want to be able to refer clients to your support team instead.

And then she said to me, after I’d told her for probably the 3rd or 4th time in a week that I just don’t have the time, ‘can’t you just manage it all and then get some of your team to do what you can’t?’. There it was… out in the open!  It kind of hit me between the eyes and I gave her question some serious thought later that evening.

And then I rediscovered a message that arrived the previous night and which only really could have come from God, well one of his messengers anyway.  I receive daily devotionals from MarketPlace Leaders (I get Volume 2) and this one is on Time Management. I’ll let you read it for yourself:

David accomplished a great deal in his lifetime. However, he also understood life had an end to it and he wanted to make the most of it. He learned to use his time wisely. And so should we.

Peter Drucker was a renown management consultant to major corporations and authored many bestselling business books. He suggested three activities that might help busy executives better manage their time.

“First, do not start with the task. Start with your time. Determine where your time is going. Then, attempt to manage that time and cut back unproductive demands on your time. Consolidate your ‘discretionary’ time into the largest possible continuing time units.

Drucker refers to the second step as time management. After listing the activities to which we devote our time, he suggests that we ask three questions about each of these activities to help us minimize the amount of time we waste: “What would happen if this were not done at all?” And if the answer is, ‘Nothing would happen,’ then obviously the conclusion is to stop doing it. Next, which of the activities on my time log could be done by somebody else just as well, if not better? What do I do that wastes my time without contributing to my effectiveness?*

Drucker closes by saying ‘Know Thyself,’ this old prescription for wisdom is impossibly difficult for mortal men. But everyone can follow the injunction ‘Know Thy Time’ if you want to, and be well on the road toward contribution and effectiveness.”

Why not evaluate how you are spending your time and ask God how to better use your time.

There was a message on my calendar too, which made me realise that God was planning on getting my attention!  ‘it is possible to give away and become richer! It is also possible to hold on too tightly and lose everything. Yes, the liberal man shall be rich! By watering others, he waters himself ‘. Interesting passage which is taken from Proverbs 11:24-25.

To top it off, this week has been an extremely strange one with lots of things happening that needed my urgent attention (like my web server crashing and needing to help clients, etc) which added to my workload considerably. Definitely time to hand over what I can to my team so I can concentrate on managing, rather than doing what others can do for me.