Friday, May 16, 2008

It Takes Time to Create Margin

Yesterday I said I would blog about what was going on in my head about margin - if I could get some. That's probably the biggest learn about margin right now. It doesn't just happen and it takes time to create margin.

First, it doesn't just happen. We don't do Sabbath very well. We don't even really know what it means to take a day off. That's when we get caught up on cutting the grass, building a new deck on the back of the house, cleaning out the gutters, etc, etc, etc. I don't know about you, but my list of things to do is much longer than my dates available. We have to be brutal about our schedule. If we don't hold it sacred, then others will fill it up. We must schedule our Sabbath, my good friend Tom does that better than anyone I know. We must also schedule our days off to be days off. We need rest.

Second, it takes time to create margin. That means that if we have made decisions in the past to fill up our schedules it will take time to unclutter those schedules. I joked yesterday about blogging if I could create some margin, but the reality was I knew that it would have been extremely difficult for me to blog because I had scheduled meetings all day long. I can't just will it to happen. It takes time to make those blocks in your schedule that will allow you to have margin.

Next time I want to blog about what happens when you get margin in your life.

1 comments:

Tom Beagan said...

Chris,
I read this from an article online this week. I think it truly puts Sabbath and margin into perspective.

"The problem with discernment is that many of us are so busy doing our own thing—moving too fast to dance the slow dance of discernment with God. You can only hear the heartbeat of God in your life when you slow down, quiet yourself, and invite God to dance with you. To slow down and listen takes a concerted and countercultural effort. The lights and sounds of society distract us if we are not careful. With so much vying for our attention, we must be intentional about disconnecting and taking time to hear what God is saying."

May you have a slow dance with God.