Last month I wrote about my current dysfunction. Basically, I’ve been too busy for my own good. I’ve put ministry before God and my family. The source of this dysfunction comes a little from poor time management skills, some from failure to delegate effectively and mostly on a failure to create healthy boundaries.
Shortly after I wrote that post, I had a talk with my manager about my unhealthy pace. Together we set up a plan for success. I often find that there are too many distraction at the office. Sometimes I’ll get pulled into a meeting or a conversation that wasn’t planned. These aren’t bad things, but I end up getting way behind in email, phone calls or other projects. So, my new plan has me working from home on Mondays and Wednesdays until 1:00 PM. This allows me to catch up/get ahead on all “my” projects and tasks. This also ensures I won’t me working late on Sunday and Tuesday nights to get caught up, I’ll have time the following mornings. I also made a commitment to totally unplug from work two nights a week. For me that was Thursday and Friday nights.
I’m in a small group on Thursdays with some guys from work. In 2009 we’re reading through the Bible together. After reading through the law, each of us felt conviction about our neglect of the sabbath. We often stress honoring the tithe to our church, yet neglect the sabbath ourselves. As a group we decided to honor the sabbath Old Testament style. We start at sundown on Friday and finish at sundown on Saturday. That allows us to get back into work-mode on Saturday night yet still honor God and our families.
Well, I’ve been practicing this for three weeks now. I failed miserably one week (some special circumstances came up) but the other two weeks have been awesome. I’ve found that I’ve been significantly more productive and I’ve have better connection time with my family for sure. I am on the path to a healthy pace. As long as I keep these boundaries, I’ll jut need to continue to work on the delegation and time management skills.
The future looks bright!
hey kenny, thanks for this reminder. this topic has been heavy on my heart lately. i’ve been working non-stop and not taking any breathers. i think about taking a break, but then i just think about all the stuff i want to get done and end up getting sucked into my computer. i definitely need to get a plan together!
Lisa’s last blog post..bundle :: then & now
Solid thought process, Kenny. I totally agree. I like it when I can get my day off. By day off, I don’t mean not working, but really resting. No trips to the store, mall, parties, events, whatever. I don’t always make it all the way to sundown on Saturday, but it is always worth the try. The reason is because even though I honor God in observing the Sabbath, I feel I dishonor him by engaging in activities that require other people to work during that time. This is one reason why I don’t agree with the thought of “having your sabbath any day of the week”. It disrupts the societal observance of the Sabbath. IF all Christians in a given area (Austin, Arizona, U.S) honor the Sabbath on the same day, our presence would be felt and our activities (or lack thereof) would have a profound impact on society. It would decrease business practices allowing more and more people to observe the Sabbath by not having to work.
I am really excited to see you guys as Gateway employees taking this approach. You are slammed on Sundays with work and even though you have a few options, it’s impressive that you went with the original Shabbat.
Keep spreading the love and the good news.
ahh…wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shabbat
So what are you NOT doing on your Sabbath break? Do share…
jonathan’s last blog post..Puppet Shows Gone Bad
Thanks for the comments everyone. Really, I’m learning as I go here, I’ve not honored God in the Sabbath in a very long time. So far, the rest has been really nice. I feel like I celebrated well this weekend.
Kris, your comment could open a can of worms. I can’t say I disagree at all and certainly something to think about. At this point I don’t share the conviction, so I’ll probably be eating out on Friday nights. 🙂 Yeah, a bunch of us Gateway-ers are sickos who work way too much. It’s great working with a team that works hard… even if I might be a little too hard.
Jonathan, you ask a good question. What am I not doing? Well, if I told you I was “unplugged” I’d be lying. In the next few weeks I need to work in at least one night of the week where I am “unplugged” and maybe one weekend a month as well. However, my life is word. Sara and I watch movies and TV shows on my laptop. However, I don’t work. I don’t open up my email for the notifications to temp me. I let my calls go to voice mail if I don’t recognize the number. I try to focus on making the day about family… although I try to build in some personal chill time as well.
Sometimes it’s nice to have the “behind the scenes” look at these things. I will say…honoring Sabbath as a family…is taking some forethought and planning on my part too. Otherwise I find myself resenting Kenny for “resting” while I’m working. This weekend I made a conscious effort to also put aside the “to do” list too. We had friends over. We watched movies. We connected. It was nice. Kris, I too, hear where you’re coming from, but I agree with Kenny…I’m not sure I’m there yet. For us, getting out and having an adventure in a new (to us) location is some of our best bonding time. When we’re out of our familiar territory and forced to grow together in a new setting, we build incredible memories together. Some of my favorite times have been our adventures in state parks, local shops, restaurants, etc. We get away from our day-to-day experiences and chat about life. These times are the most restful experiences we’ve had as a couple and as a family. I have a feeling these adventures will weigh heavily into our Sabbath practices.
I remember some of our State Park Adventures! 🙂 Those are some of my favorite!
it’s amazing the things we do i the name of ministry. we inadvertently sacrifice ourselves (and our family) on the alter of ministry.
i’ve learned i have to completely unplug from twitter, fb, email and other forms of networking b/c they’ve become part of my ‘work’. even on my days off, they draw my thoughts back to my job and away from my family. both are worthwhile ministry, but only one can be done by me. that has to be my priority.