Category Archives: Control

How to Use Time Wisely

Posted on by
Reply

Thousands of books are sold annually to help people discover their purpose, which, in essence, tell them how they should be spending their time. As I wrote earlier this week, Christians should spend our time giving God glory, which means focusing our efforts to display that we belong to God and so that others will come to know Him. This is our purpose. But because each of us is unique, this purpose—how we spend our time—will look different from person to person. This time spent is based on our gifts and talents and God’s timing of when He wants us to use them for Him.

Even if you know that you were created to worship God, you may not know how you were created to do so or how to allocate your time to worship Him fully. So to help us ascertain how to spend our time wisely, I want you to always ask yourself three questions: “What are my gifts and talents?” “How do you, God, want me to use my gifts and talents?” And, “What difference will it make if I do this right now?”

What are my gifts and talents? A gift is something that God supernaturally gives to Christians to accomplish His work—which is making Him known, reflecting God in your life and sharing Him with others. While people use Holy Spirit-endowed gifts for their personal benefit, God didn’t give them for personal use. Whether you are on your job, walking down the street, in the mall or at the hair salon, your gifts should always reflect that you’re using them to glorify Jesus Christ. See 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12 and Ephesians 4:11-12. If looking at these scriptures doesn’t give you a clue about your gifts, there are a number of gifts tests you can take. Team Ministry has one that’s pretty basic at www.churchgrowth.org.

Talents are those activities that you come natural to you and you excel in. Singing, dancing, writing, carpentry, sports, or any other skill apart from those listed in the above scriptures fall in this category.

How do you, God, want me to use my gifts and talents? Just because you know your gifts and talents doesn’t mean you can use them for whatever comes your way. You must seek God to find out how He wants you to use your gifts and talents. I hear so many people say that they don’t hear from God or don’t know how to hear from God. Well, John 10:27 says, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. . .” Jesus says because you are His you hear His voice. The assumption is that 1) you belong to God and 2) you do what’s necessary to hear His voice. You must seek to get close to Him so you can hear Him. You do this through studying His word and constantly communing with Him through prayer, not just a daily set aside time but talking to Him throughout the day.

What difference will it make if I do this right now? Sometimes we are clear about our gifts and talents and how God wants us to use them, but our timing is off. I know at times I don’t properly prioritize; I take care of something that God has told me to do, but it is not the most pressing issue. I have forced myself to ask, “What difference will it make if I do this right now?” If I find that I will only feel good about it being done or that it will set my schedule back then I shouldn’t be engaged in it right then. And, of course, the opposite is true: I do it right then if I know God will be pleased and I will be on target with my schedule.
Always seeking God with these questions ensures the right path for our lives and that we will be using our time wisely to accomplish God’s will.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Redeem Your Time

Posted on by
Reply

“She gets up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family and portions for her servant girls” (Proverbs 31:15).

This scripture has always fascinated many Christian women because they were expected to wake up early on top of handling all the other responsibilities of a so-called Proverbs 31 woman. I have always been an early riser, so that part doesn’t fascinate me like the fact that she had servants, but I digress and will get back to that point in the next post, Lord willing. But even though I rise early and find it beneficial to my day, I think there is a larger principle at work in this scripture. The Proverbs 31 woman rose early so she could begin to handle her business and the business of her family before having to interact with her family. She used the time of day best for her to be singularly focused on family business and not on family members themselves.

“Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15-17).

Ephesians tells us to use our time wisely, or as some translations say “redeem the time,” “because the days are evil.” This phrase suggests that there is so much turmoil in the world that it can be easy for the Christian to focus on their pain and suffering, whether that pain comes from attacks against Christianity, the work that goes into keeping a daily routine or physical ailments that we are all prone to. But our focusing on our pain should not be all-consuming because we miss the ability to make “the best use of the time.” Our time is supposed to be used to accomplish “the will of the Lord.”

“For everything comes from him; everything exists by his power and is intended for his glory. To him be glory evermore. Amen” (Romans 11:36 NLT).

Because we were created for God’s glory, we must spend our time giving him glory, which means focusing our efforts to display that we belong to God and so that others will come to know Him. Each of us is called to do this but in different ways, according to our gifts and talents. So if we are spending time to accomplish anything other than giving God glory, we are not being wise; we need to seek the Lord to understand not His will, because I’ve told you that, but how He wants us to accomplish His will. Knowing how to accomplish God’s will helps us to be that Proverbs 31 woman, and doing God’s will is the only way to use our time wisely.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Watch Your Time

Posted on by
Reply

Years ago I remember reading the story of a black woman executive who served everyone: friends, family, colleagues, and community. She was a strong black woman, a superwoman who seemed to have it all together until she was found dead, a victim of suicide to escape a world where time was her enemy, willingly taking her hostage and bounding her to destruction. Perhaps she was a people pleaser, wanting everyone to like her for what she did for them. Maybe she needed to feel needed so she responded to every beck and call. Whatever the underlying issue for this troubled woman, I know that above all she was not prudent with her time.

Some people may think that this is an unfair statement, saying that not budgeting her time wisely is ultimately what killed her. But when you look at anyone who is overwhelmed, whether to the point of death or not, nine times out of ten the issue is using time unwisely. You don’t use time wisely when you spend time doing something you shouldn’t be doing. This could mean that you give time to projects, pleasures and people where your efforts should be focused elsewhere. You could be altogether engaged in something that you shouldn’t or engaged in something that you should but just spending too much or too little time with it.

For instance, you may have a beautiful voice and decide to sing in your church choir when God wants you to pursue being a recording artist instead. Or you may have a beautiful voice and should sing in a choir, but this doesn’t necessarily mean that you should teach voice lessons to choir members, sing every solo that’s offered to you and direct the choir. In both instances, time is not being used wisely. We have all decided to watch TV, go shopping or talk on the phone instead of doing some work. And with people, we may see a need and decide we should meet it even though we know that need doesn’t fall within our calling. Or we might have to call to ask someone a question to meet a deadline, but we end up handling that person’s issue for 45 minutes. All these are instances of time spent unwisely, even doing some good but not doing our good.

Above all, I think the ultimate waste of time is focusing on projects, pleasures and people instead of giving appropriate intimate time to God. Ephesians 5:15-17 says, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is.” Focusing on God first and fully helps to ensure that we are prudent with our time, not just doing good but doing the good that God would have us to do.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Joshua's Journey, Part 1

Posted on by
2

He had been educated in a safe environment, receiving instruction in a place that showed him love and encouragement, affirmed his heritage and strengthened his spirituality. Now it was time to integrate and the powers that be tried to block his kind. This was not Alabama, Arkansas or Mississippi or the 1950s or ’60s. This was Michigan—Detroit—in 2009 in an urban school system that was rejecting a six-year-old black boy because he was an undesirable; he was a homeschooler.

Me and Joshua

Me and Joshua

This is the story of Joshua Lee Smith, my firstborn, who I home schooled for his first three years of his formal education. My spiritual conviction led me to do so, and now my spiritual conviction was leading me to place him in the public school system. Before the end of last school year, I met with his new school’s principal. She gave me a tour of the school, answered all my questions about her and the school, and told me when I enrolled him that I would need normal documentation, in addition to his report card and the curriculum that I used. She was quite pleasant, very accommodating and looking forward to Joshua integrating. But with the recent shakeups in the Detroit Public Schools (DPS), I had been checking news reports to see if there had been any changes with Joshua’s school. Three weeks ago I found that the school had a new principal, who wasn’t so accommodating.

When I called her to make sure that the enrollment documentation that I had for Joshua was still sufficient, she dismissed the curriculum (“I haven’t heard of that.”) and the report card, by saying, “Who would give him a report card?” doubting my objectivity as his teacher. “You just have to be very careful with homeschooling,” she said. “It has to be done every day,” suggesting a slack in commitment on the part of home educators. She eventually told me that all the students (new and returning, homeschooled and non-homeschooled) would be tested on the first day of school to see if they were in the appropriate grade, and when I enrolled him, she only took his immunization record and birth certificate and said that his enrollment was complete.

On the Thursday before Labor Day, essentially the first day before school, a school official called me saying that I needed to show documentation that my son had passed the 1st grade and is qualified to be promoted to the 2nd grade, and this was the only way that Joshua would be enrolled. She nor the principal, however, knew what this proof was but referred me to a central office number, that kept me on hold for an hour and twenty minutes; no one ever came to the phone to help me. While on hold, I called two personal contacts—a ranking official in state government and an education reporter—to see if they could direct me to someone who could help. They offered to make calls for me. In the meantime, I contacted six offices, only to be told there is a DPS homeschooling office, and the director is the only person who could help me, and she wouldn’t be in until the first day of school.

Before I decided to enroll my son into DPS, I checked the State Board of Education and DPS websites and found no information regarding this burden of proof that was now being required. DPS, under the leadership of Emergency Financial Manager Robert Bobb, began the “I’m In” campaign to encourage parents to enroll their children into the troubled DPS system. I was trying to get my son “In” but was blocked at almost every turn, with even one worker chastising me, saying that I may have held my son back, and he couldn’t believe that “you kept your son at home and didn’t register him with the state.”

After six hours of the runaround and attacks all stemming from ignorance about and discrimination against home education, someone from Mr. Bobb’s staff called me, apologized for my mistreatment, talked to the principal on my behalf and gave me the final verdict: “Your son will be attending school on Tuesday. He will be in the 2nd grade and tested with the other children, and we’ll go from there.” He gave me his personal cell phone number and told me to call if I had any other concerns. I’m just glad Josh has been caught up in the drama of being in a new school instead of what it has taken to get him in the school. Josh in mirror

On this Labor Day, I want you to remember all those union workers, civil rights fighters and resourceful mothers who have struggled on behalf of the disenfranchised ones. I want you to remember that when you work, you don’t just work for yourself, but your presence and personal policies affect your life and the lives of generations to come. Make sure your stance doesn’t reek of George Wallace or Orval Faubus just because someone different from you seems to be a threat to all you know. Tomorrow, I hope that people see Joshua for who he is, a bright boy who was homeschooled and not a threat to tradition.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith

Know What's at the Gate

Posted on by
Reply

This is the first year that my oldest son will be attending a public school. My husband and I educated him at home for preschool and the first two years of elementary school. I had relatives and friends who questioned the merit of our decision to home school. Because I took my job as a gatekeeper seriously, I didn’t let people’s opinions deter me from doing what I knew we were called to do. Now that he will be attending a public school, I still am not allowing people’s contrary opinions to deter me from putting my son where I know God would have him to be.

To be an effective gatekeeper, you must know how to keep the good in and the bad out.

Know the expectations—The Word of God tells us how to live. Therefore, set family goals based on the commands of scripture for husbands, wives, and children. Not only have individual goals, but create ones for the family to meet together. For example, to fulfill take care of the poor, twice a month the family could prepare and deliver a meal to a family in need (Psalms 82:3-4, Proverbs 31:9).

Pray and fast—You need spiritual insight to direct you through what you see and don’t see. There is always a war going on in the spiritual realm that we cannot see, but God sees and directs our steps (2 Kings 6:15-17; Ephesians 6:12 and Proverbs 16:9). There are also things that God will reveal to us in the natural through prayer and fasting. And then there are those issues we observe with our own eyes. Whatever is revealed or not revealed, we still need God to direct us so we guard the gate appropriately to defeat the enemy and protect our family.

Filter entertainment—What the world rates as acceptable family entertainment many times goes against goals a Christian family may have. For instance, my children can’t watch The Flintstones or Popeye because of the sexist (both) and objectifying (Popeye) behavior in them. Sponge Bob is off limits because it’s crude. And media with gratuitous sex, violence and bad language are off limits, not just for the children, but also for me and my husband. We had to avoid two constant household favorites—The Sopranos and Sex in the City—before their series ended. I still have to make sure not to linger too long at the video section at the library so I’m not tempted to rent what I missed (1 Corinthians 15:33).

Assess family and friends—There is a saying, “Everyone who’s blood is not relative.” As a gatekeeper, you need to know which relatives are relative to your spiritual growth and which are not. Based upon your family’s goals, you know what the limits are of interaction with certain family members. Maybe the family members that like to get drunk and talk trash start cutting loose at the end of the family gathering. Make sure you come early and leave around “pumpkin time.” As for friends, the ones challenging you to do opposite of what you know to be right should be eliminated or kept at a distance. To help your children in this area, make sure you interact with families who have similar goals for their children and expose them to activities with goals that meet, or at least don’t contradict, your family’s goals.

Choose solid spiritual connections—Attend a Bible-believing church and hook up with Christian groups that have similar interests (like a book club, sports league or quilting bee). These are great ways to stay encouraged and focused on your goals.

When you have a plan, you can fulfill the job of gatekeeper and lead your family to the best God has for them.

Copyright 2009 by Rhonda J. Smith