Author: michaelrobb

I found myself listening to Dave Ramsey this Easter. It was a recording of a show that had been on the air earlier that week. The part that was convicting though was in a segment when he featured a Ramsey personality specializing in encouraging women in their entrepreneurial pursuits. A lady called in and asked for advice discerning if now was the right season to take the leap into self-employment and business start-up. Part of the answer was an encouragement to make a budget of hours, like the zero-based budgets encouraged by some financial advisers. Then, after discerning where time went, the caller could better assess if starting a business fit as a priority in this season of life.

I was especially convicted, because there have been seasons of my past life where my time was used quite effectively – I was doing what I wanted to be doing when I wanted to be doing it. However, lately that has not been the case. I’ve been leading a flexible schedule that allowed for (and caused) surplus effort/time to be squandered. So, this is my declaration of being done with that course of behavior.

I want to use a schedule; to me, Google Calendar feels like the best schedule app for now. Here’s my color-code:

• Pink – Hayley
• Red – fasting or other all-day spiritual ventures
• Yellow – school or other intellectual pursuits
• Orange – bodily training (aerobic, strength, flexibility)
• Light Green “Sage” – stewardship (spiritual disciplines, financial record keeping, yard maintenance, etc.)
• Dark Green “Basil” – accountability or hobbies (like blogging)
• Light Blue “Peacock” – personal meeting
• Dark Blue “Blueberry” – church meeting
• Lavender – planning self-care
• Grape – practicing self-care
• Grey/Gray – Birthdays and Misc.

Of course, color-coding doesn’t equate to practicing, but it feels like it.

And hopefully, it means that I’ll be able to “see” how I’m budgetting time as I live it.

Many of you know I am currently enrolled as a student in a MDiv program remotely. A teacher sent this announcement out to the class this week and I thought it was worth preserving.

“I was recently with a pastor who is retiring due to health. I asked him what he wished he could do differently about his ministry and he couldn’t think of anything except wishing he had exercised more. While he was imperfect, he loved his family, served his church the best he could and lived a consecrated life. He apologized for not being able to think of things he would like to have changed. I thought this was as fine a testimony as I could have heard. Don’t you want that to be your testimony when you are old as well? Do your best and follow the Lord closely and do his will. God blesses and honors that!
Have a great week and stay close to the Lord!”

I was so encouraged by this announcement. What a wonderful testimony: he was imperfect, he loved his family, served his church the best he could and lived a consecrated life. I hope that in time, I can say those things about myself. I hope also that it can be said of you, reader.

Recently, I read this short article. I thought it was funny enough and applicable to my daily blog posts and my recent declaration.

How do you feel about how you spent your day?

I feel mostly good, with a twinge of angst followed by a rebuke of privilege.

I feel mostly good, because I enjoyed the day. There was nothing unethical or questionable or harmful to me or anyone especially close to me. There were occasions of true connection and love with God and people I am close too. So, devoid of extreme stimuli (which I prefer), the day was mostly good.

I feel a twinge of angst followed by a rebuke of privilege because “to a ship with no destination, no wind is favorable”. Because I do not firmly accept any current calling on my life, it’s difficult/impossible to judge whether the day was profitable or not. On a ship heading east to Lisbon, a day might feel good going north or south, traveling at an uneventful steady pace slightly drifting west and in fact be bad! But if the same ship does not know where it is going, no days -regardless of feeling- are truly good or bad! They are meaningless.
On a side note, this meaninglessness is one of the tragedies of the naturalistic/atheistic worldview as without any mind for the eternal, the worldview has no choice but to rob its adherents of any meaningful existence.

Just after experiencing angst regarding my day yesterday, I realize and feel the rebuke of knowing that it is privilege that I can even feel the angst I do. So, that takes a shot at my pride moves me down a few rungs and leaves me confused, but still angsty.

May we all come to accept the current lot we have been given and live it out in a way that glorifies the God whose name we bear.

This past fall and spring, I was taking Greek as a seminary student. Greek both semesters lasted the duration of the semester, making it an anomaly since most of my courses last half a semester as online intensives. In addition to Greek, I took four or five other courses. Of course, fall Greek was easier than spring Greek. Unwisely, I signed up for five courses in the spring instead of the fall. Thus, in the semester with the harder base language, I found myself taking a larger course load with one half especially unbearable.

So, thinking ahead, I planned to take Hebrew in the upcoming fall and spring semesters. Hebrew is much harder to me than Greek. Wisely, I determined that I would only take four courses each semester beyond Hebrew (so that I was never taking three intensives plus Hebrew, which would be dreadful). In order to succeed in that goal in the upcoming fall and spring, I had to take seven intensives this summer.

This first half of summer has been super fun with regard to school as I’ve attended an exciting tour and taken three courses that are on subjects I really enjoy: denominational history, leadership, practical ministry. But I have one paper I failed to write on time. It was due on the 20th and five days later I still haven’t come close to finishing.
Hopefully, I can do it this afternoon and tomorrow morning and turn it in before it is an entire week late. But the irony of turning in a leadership paper on time management is not lost on me.

So, that’s the last assignment for the two classes that I took on tour. The other one course will end this Thursday and I suspect that I will have no difficulty finishing its assignments on time since I have been faithful to keep up with the coursework so far.

The second half of the summer semester has already begun though and this half, I will be taking four classes, so I’m a little nervous about that. I pray the Lord will be with me and will keep life calm as we finish the other side of the duplex (to move someone in by August), participate in church life and work, and as I devote myself to my education and other longer-term goals.

One thing that I have determined to give my heart rest about is where we will go upon graduation. I don’t know where we will go and often I am overwhelmed by anxiety or dread regarding the lack of decisive vision. But recently, I have decided to rest in that tension and not be worried. I plan instead to work hard on school, still striving to finish early. And then devote the season after graduation to recalibrating with the Spirit and my ambition in light of those I love. A large variety of options are on the table and I plan to sweep them into a box and close the lid cutting a small hole to receive future ideas, but not to be examined until the time is right. Grant me patience and peace as I trust the process and live temporarily without long term vision.

How do you feel about how you spent your day?

I feel wretched. I hate that at the end of the day I felt like it was wasted. The whole of the day was meaningless. At least I’m writing. That way there is some record and maybe I can process and grow through it.

Days that feel meaningless are not always meaningless and days that feel meaningful are not always meaningful. Most days are somewhere in between: having some meaning.

Today feels meaningless because I did not do anything I wanted to do. I did not exercise my autonomy and authority to do that which I value. I was rather subject to insecurity and fear and feelings of unworthiness as I did nothing I esteem to do.

Lord, if you are merciful, please give me another day. And help me to number my days so that I will gain a heart of wisdom.

I haven’t written since the beginning of June. Part of why I have not written is because there have been other more pressing matters that have kept my attention. But a deterrent has also been knowing that the format I have set up expects a post a day that coincides with a survey a day. Because knowing that system is in place means that I either need to make amends for past shortcomings (type old post for posts) or scrap them and move on from the day of return and scrapping is harder for me although probably wiser.

Why was I using that format and why am I giving it up for a little bit?
The format was there to help my partners in accountability keep me accountable. I am the chief person keeping myself accountable and this format does succeed in keeping me accountable. So, although I began this post expecting to be a farewell to the format, I am instead going to use it in its unedited version as a revitalization.

I’m not going to give up answering the question, “how do you feel about how you spent your day?” because I am still convinced that it helps me hold myself accountable to standing guard at the door of my mind and engaging in the pursuit of my values.

So, moving forward, I’ll probably give a brief summary of past seasons and then get back to writing a daily post for post (M-F) and then writing about things that interest me – of which there are stacks of notecards! For now, thanks for reading whoever it is that is reading.

I wrote the phrase that is the title of this post in this one. And when I did, I knew I needed to comment. You see, even though it is my heart’s desire to enter eternity and here from God, “Well done my good and faithful servant”, I realize that I cannot hope to succeed in that. I am not a good and faithful servant. I try to be good. I try to be faithful. But I fail in both aims. Jesus succeeds in both aims and if ever I am to hear from God, “Well done my good and faithful servant”, it will be because of the work of Jesus in me. Any and all good and faithful behavior is the result of Jesus. It is the Holy Spirit working in me to make Christ manifest and the Father glorified by my life.

So, it is my prayer and I hope it is yours that the Holy Spirit will continue to minister to us and bear fruit in our lives so that the name and work of Christ can be made much of and the name and glory of the Father be enjoyed forever to ever increasing degrees.