Time Management and Thanksgiving

It is Friday morning and I have for some reason a really good cup of coffee compared to my usual. We have been living on a budget, and so I haven't had enough money left in the last few weeks to buy a new can of coffee that doesn't taste awful. But, this morning I decided to use my left over coffee from my camping gear, and it has convinced me that I NEED to buy a new can of coffee. Or else, I suppose I could use the churches can that has been put in my basement freezer. But, would that be considered stealing? It is for church purposes I suppose if I use it to be able to wake up and get to work in the mornings. I'll have to think about that some more... or maybe someone will be generous and drop us off a can of good coffee. Lately those prayers have been answered. I have a stage on the other side of my living room door, filled with jams, potatoes, onions, carrots, rutabaga, and trees. It's a pretty sight to see!

It seems so much has been going on in the last few weeks, but I haven't taken the time to really stop and think about it. Last weekend we had a Thanksgiving pot-luck/service at the church. We had a full crowd and lots of food! I preached a bilingual sermon... translating myself is an art in itself I must say! And then I completely forgot that I wanted to let people share a testimony and jumped straight to the food. I must have been hungry or something. Then after the service we rushed everyone to clean up, packed our bags and drove to my parent's house to join my brother, his fiancee and my younger sister for a nice Thanksgiving day. I had not seen my sister since the wedding, and so even though it was only for a few hours I was glad to be able to be with her.

One of the things about ministry is that you never get those long weekends. You never get those extra days off that let you go away for the weekend, and getting a day off only means you have less time to do everything that has to be done before the next Sunday comes along. And yes, we do more than just prepare a sermon. I find it hard to get used to all the responsibilities I have and manage my time properly. I started 2 weeks ago to really make a plan that would help me to manage my time better and make sure I did blocks of work on this and that at different times throughout the week. If it has helped to put more visitation time in my schedule, that is about it. I find myself constantly distracted or interrupted during those other moments when I am supposed to be focusing on something else.

The problem with bad time management is that I get overwhelmed when at the end of the week I have loads of things to do and not enough time to do it. And if you know me at all, when I get overwhelmed, I get very emotional and I tend to complain a lot. The thing is, I like what I do and I love being able to invest in people's lives, but I just feel like there is so much to be done and no end to it. My "get it done" attitude, is really hard to deal with while working with people who never get to where they are supposed to be. And so, I spend a lot of time complaining... sometimes. I wish I didn't, but I do. Hopefully one day that will change.

But I am thankful. I am thankful that I have this job and thankful that I have a church that trusted me enough to allow me to be their pastor. I am thankful that I have a roof and that even though it's a little cold in here, I am not living outside. I am thankful that I always live in one of the most beautiful places in the world even though they are far away and isolated. I am thankful that I have a family that loves me and cares for me and that I enjoy being around. I am thankful for parents that have invested in my life and taught me what I know today. I am thankful for a husband who sticks by when I get tired and emotional and who loves me enough to let me be who God made me to be. And I am thankful that I am able to spend my life in service to God - because investing in anything else than the Kingdom of God is, I believe, useless.

I know I am a little late with Thanksgiving being last week already, but I'm not the conventional do it at the right day kind of person anyway. So here is to my day of being thankful! :)