We love the elusive search for that perfect productivity system.

That’s why the racks of your local bookstore are crammed with titles on time management, organization, and taking charge of your life.

Each author claims that their new method is a no-nonsense, breakthrough, revolutionary approach to accomplishing your goals and feeling at peace with the world.

It feeds right into our desires. Because that’s what we truly want – a turnkey system that we plug into our lives easily and effectively.

But we’re looking at it the wrong way.

Continue Reading…

How many times have you heard someone wonder what God’s will was for their life? How many times have you wondered about what his plan was for your future?

In Forgotten God, Francis Chan points out a major problem with this line of thinking. It puts all of our focus on the future and what God could possibly do in our lives then. And that takes our eyes off the present, where the Spirit is beckoning us to sacrifice, to work, and to grow.
Continue Reading…

One of the crucial aspects of time stewardship is setting goals. After all, you have to know where you want to go before you can think about getting there effectively.

But I think we often overestimate the power of goal-setting. And this happens because we don’t understand the process of goal achievement – and we forget the true purpose of goals.

Continue Reading…

Proverbs 26:13
The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”

It’s tempting for us to read through Proverbs with the general idea that it outlines good and bad behavior. Anything mentioned under “fool, scoffer, sluggard” would be things we are not to emulate.

But think more deeply about what the Bible says about motivations. There’s a gold mine of wisdom when we think about the subtle connections the Bible makes.

Continue Reading…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

Stress.

It’s the number one reason why people want to improve their time management. We want to prioritize better, focus more, work harder, be more organized – and then finally we’ll get to the point where we can feel at peace with our schedules.

But peel back the layers a little bit, and we uncover some deeper problems.

Our desires to reduce stress – and the very sources of our stress – show us a lot about ourselves.

Continue Reading…

Do you wake up with the passion that your life is meaningful and accomplishing something?

Do you feel like what you do matters? Really matters?

Perhaps there are certain areas where you feel important – fleeting moments of significance.

Let me tell you this. There is a war going on behind the scenes, and Satan would love to make you believe that your actions are meaningless.

Continue Reading…

You might laugh when I tell you how to feel less busy. You might immediately stop reading this post.

But maybe there’s a chance you’ll agree.

Either way, I hope this at least gets you thinking.

Continue Reading…

Maybe it’s procrastinating by playing games on the internet. Maybe it’s slapping the snooze button a few times instead of lacing up those jogging shoes.

We all have areas where our discipline falls short of where we’d like it to be.

We need to remind ourselves that we already have God’s approval.

But we also need to remind ourselves of how and where we really get our motivation.

Continue Reading…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download

I’m excited to release the first episode of the Life of a Steward Podcast.

It’s something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time, and it’s something I truly hope will be beneficial to you.

But before we get going, I do have a favor to ask of you.

Continue Reading…

A comedy skit I remember from a long time ago opened up by showing a man walking out his front door. He goes to lock the gate to the fence surrounding his yard.

Apparently, he’s very serious about no one entering his yard, because the gate is covered with multiple locks. He spends about 30 seconds latching deadbolts, turning keys, and securing padlocked chains.

As he walks away, the camera reveals that, despite his zealous concern for locking his gate, the fence to his yard is only about 2 feet high with huge gaps in it.

It made me laugh.

But how many of us do the same with our time? And how does that affect our relationships?

Continue Reading…