Get space in your life!

Two people are sawing wood. One person works solidly through the day. the other takes a break for ten minutes every hour. At the end of the day the person who has taken the breaks has cut more wood.

   "How can this be" says the other man.

   "Every time I took a break", comes the reply, " I sharpened my saw".

(Story from Steve Covey) 

Time and space to contemplate and reflect enables us to stay sharp. Working solidly through may seem more effective but this may not be the case. Stopping enables us time to pray, to recapture our vision, helps us to evaluate where we have been and where we are going.

God also think space in our lives to stop is a good idea. One of the first things God said was, "take a day off". Both when he created the world and then later when he gave our his top ten rules for a society (the ten commandments). We are created to need time and space. Whether or not you believe in God this time is important however I believe prayer adds a dimension where we can receive affirmation and direction through connecting with the ultimate creator and power behind the universe.

I used to take the first thirty minutes in each day and sit and pray, sometimes talking, sometimes quiet. I had dropped this as I felt too busy....but a couple of weeks ago I started again. It has not meant my days have gone perfectly but, actually, I think I have been more productive and the space has resulted in me being more creative and inspired.

Have a go for a week then post your thoughts here :-)

Only seeing concrete

Hunched over and clenched,
Beaten down by the struggles of life,
A lone figure walks down a street,
The battles she's faced have made her wary of looking too far ahead,
The pavement beneath her feet is all she sees,

A busy street bustles with life, 
The warm summers' breeze cools people from the hot sun,
A child licks his ice cream happily,
The music from the jazz band on the corner make people smile as they pass by

And as the band change tune, a woman walks past,
She doesn't notice the music or the child,
Staring at the ground, life has lost its colour,
All she sees is the grey street beneath her feet.

There are people who have been beaten down in this life by tough things that have happened to them. So eventually they are unable to enjoy life. The future seems hopeless, difficult and hard. So instead of looking forward to what might be, to all the possible futures that could be, people learn to look down. 

Who do you know like this? Who can only see the difficulties not the possibilities? Who is focused on what they can't do rather than what they can? Who can you help to lift up their eyes to see the world afresh? Whose life can you speak some encouragement into and give hope.

Jesus came with a message of hope. A message announcing that he wanted to set people free from the things that had beaten them down. Jesus said;

God’s Spirit is on me he’s chosen me to preach the Message of good news to the poor, Sent me to announce freedom to prisoners and recovery of sight to the blind, to set the burdened and battered free (The Bible, Luke chapter 4)