Month: March 2020

5 Steps to Getting Things Done Now

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

The time is now. This moment is all I have. Time has been on my mind a lot lately. I have been trying to get my family history scrapbooks caught up after years of neglect. Assembling photos and pages detailing long-past events I am struck by how much time I no longer have to spend. Then I think about what I hope and plan to do tomorrow or even this afternoon, and I realize I don’t have that time to spend, either. The only time I have is literally this moment. Right now. Only now.

My to-do lists are everywhere. I am a serious, some might say ‘compulsive,’ list maker. So many of those lists have the same projects and plans listed and often in the exact same order. One of my constant thoughts is “what is the most important item on those lists to be doing now?” Hmmm. It is so much easier to make lists instead of actually starting on the projects on the list. So, chastened by this truth, I talk to myself and say “pick one thing. It isn’t important what, but pick one things and start. Start now.”

So here I am writing. ‘Writing for my blog’ is on each list. “Good for me,” I silently congratulate myself. ‘Making art’ is on each list so I’ve made some calligraphy to go with this post. Again I pat myself on the back for seizing this moment. So the question arises, “how can I help myself stay in this mode of using the time I have now?” I’ve set up a game plan.

  1. Make a list. What do you really want to do? Be detailed, but don’t get bogged down.
  2. Prioritize the list. Think of all reasons every item should or could be done. Given where you are in life situation, what is the priority for each item? Make a fresh, prioritized list.
  3. Start now. Start with the top item. NOW. (This step requires a bit of “self-talk” – grab myself by the scruff of my mental neck and look myself squarely in my internal ‘face’ and give myself a serious command to “get going, now!”) Begin the doing the top task.
  4. Go back to the list when you find yourself milling around with a sense of “what should I do?“ Take the top item and start. NOW.
  5. Congratulate yourself when you have taken the moment in hand and gotten one of the items done. “Good for you!” Enjoy the sense of accomplishment and maturity you have gained by this process. Don’t stop now! Go back to #3. Soon you will have a list of accomplishments rather than “to-do’s.” And won’t that feel great?
Actor Hugh Laurie puts a fine point on the way to get going. Just start.

Let me encourage you to get going on your list. Do now what you have been stalling while you get “ready.” As the quote by Hugh Laurie puts it, “There is no such thing as ready. Now is as good a time as any.”

With practice, you and I can get much accomplished and who knows, we might just improve the world in which we live as an added bonus!

QUESTION: What are you doing NOW? Have you thought about the loss of letting this moment slip by un-used?

Corona Crazy Days

Posted on by Karyn Jeffrey

The corona virus has inflicted more than physical harm. Fear and crazy panic are washing over us as a result of corona’s spread around the world. The mandated isolation of huge numbers of people has caused even more anxiety. Fear and isolation are a dreadful combination in our thinking. Why are we in such a dither? What can we do to “keep our heads?”

Not knowing what will happen causes fear. We are not in control. We cannot know what the next moment will bring, let alone what tomorrow or next week holds for us. Our world seems upside down and out of control just now.

It isn’t. God is still God and like the old spiritual says “He’s got the whole world in His hands.” But, this season is a severe test of what we believe about some very serious matters. Life and death are staring us in the face. A huge list of “what ifs” have unfurled before us.

Considering death we ask “What if I get sick and die?” “What will happen to my family?” “What will dying be like?” “Where will I go after death?” Considering life under the restrictions, shortages and isolation, we wonder “What will I do if I run out of food?” “If I can’t go to work, how will we pay the bills?” “If one or more of us are sick, how will we know what to do?” “Will our doctor be able to help?” “Will we get turned away at the door of the emergency room?”  “What will I do to be sure my kids don’t get behind in school?” “What will I do to fill the days and hours of enforced solitude?”

Difficult questions to be sure, but I am reining in my thinking and reminding myself of some wonderful things that are true.

God made me and the whole world. He has not “lost control.” I do not fear what I cannot see because I know He knows and sees all things.

“…I am God, and there is no other’ I am God and there is no one like Me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done, saying, ‘My purpose will be established and I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;…Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass. I have planned it, surely I will do it.”  Isaiah 46:9-11

The Almighty does not slumber or sleep. (Psalm 121:3) He knows the plans He has for us. When the prophet Jeremiah gave God’s people the horrifying news that they were about to go into captivity, he also relayed God’s kind and comforting promise.

“‘When seventy years have been completed for Babylon, I will visit you and fulfill My good word to you, to bring you back to this place. For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope…call upon Me and come and pray to me and I will listen to you. You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart. I will be found by you, ‘declares the LORD.”  Jeremiah 29: 10-14

God has a plan. Think of the confusion the Apostles must have felt in the days and hours leading up to Jesus’ crucifixion. They had come to believe that He was indeed the long-awaited Messiah the Father had promised Adam and Eve in the Garden. But here He was, arrested, beaten, mocked and even murdered. He, who had done not one thing wrong, was dying the ignominious death of a criminal. They must have wondered why God had let this happen. Why didn’t Jesus just speak a word and destroy the hated Roman authorities? He could have become king with the power He had. He had fed thousands from offerings of a tiny lunch, healed dreaded leprosy, caused those who had been crippled from birth to walk and run. He walked on water, calmed a storm with a simple command—“Peace, be still.” He had raised people from the dead. Why was this One who had such power allowing Himself to be crucified?

Nothing can thwart God’s plan. Nothing the world does can change or thwart that plan. The Godhead, in eternity past, determined to bring men who are dead in sin and under His just judgement for that sin to life and to make them into righteous beings for eternity. The Great, Holy, Triune God did what He planned. Jesus—God in human flesh—came to earth at the perfect time, lived and then died exactly as He planned. He was raised on the third day and He lives forever. Jesus is coming back to deal with sin and evil finally and forever. The entire flow of history from the Garden, through the Cross to this day and on to the Day of His appearing is entirely planned by Almighty God.

Not one action or circumstance in which we find ourselves is out of His awareness and control. The spread of this fearsome disease causes us alarm. It is not an easy thing to contemplate being sick and dying. Death is an enemy that entered our world when we fell into sin and rebellion. But God is using this situation to accomplish His plan. We can’t know how that will be except that we know He will use it for His glory. In the meantime, we must discipline our thinking and use what He has given to live soberly and sensibly.

How can we overcome the confusion, anxiety, fear? I would suggest several things, but first and most importantly, I remind myself and urge you to draw near to God and He will draw near to us.

How do we “draw near”? Sincere prayer, careful reading of and meditation on the Bible. His Word gives what we need in time of turmoil. Remember the words He spoke to the storm? “Peace, be still.” The Psalmist says it to us as well. “Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10 He has promised to hear those who call upon Him.

Question: Will you call on God today? Will you give Him your fear and trust Him to be with you and help you in this time of uncertainty?