KidMinspiration

Simply Put: First Things First

01/13/201401/13/2014 Kathie Phillips 2 Comments

Happy New Year, friends! I hope your New Year is off to a fabulous start! My New Year started with a vacation – my first cruise – to the Caribbean. It was a long overdue vacation and I did not have any problem relaxing…the weather was warm, the food was great, the company was sweet and the views were amazing. See for yourself:

The view from my room on the cruise ship – Sunset over the Atlantic Ocean

When I returned home, there were lots of things to catch up on – opening mail, unpacking, laundry, grocery shopping, email, catching up with my family (who stayed behind while I was away). “Where should I start?”, I asked myself.

Have you found yourself asking the same question? Ministry – and life in general – can be filled with long to-do lists. It can be overwhelming knowing where to start. Here are a few pointers that have helped me:

Make a to-do list. Simple, right? It is a burden lifted when I take a few minutes to simply write down all of the things swirling around in my head.

Prioritize the list. Take an honest look at what you’ve listed and determine what’s immediate, what can wait, what can be delegated, what can be eliminated.

Move forward. Work your list and make your list work for you. Jump in and start knocking things off of the list. Don’t procrastinate!

Set time limits. What can you do in an hour? What can you do in five minutes? You might be surprised how much you can knock out when you’re focused and have a time frame to work within.

Eliminate distraction. No social media. No email. Put your cell phone on vibrate. Set your desk phone to “Do not disturb.” Go to a quiet place (I love working at the library). You get the idea.

Cross things off of the list as you work. Seeing things scratched off the list can be one of your biggest motivators!

How do you keep ‘first things first’? I’d love to hear what you do!

{From the Archives}: Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Jesus, Simply Jesus

12/23/201312/23/2013 Kathie Phillips

“Let every heart prepare Him room…”

Today concludes our Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room series, posts dedicated to Christmas reflections. Each Monday in December, through Christmas, we’ve looked at different ways that you can make room for Jesus this Christmas. You can find past posts here, here and here.

“In the sixth month, God sent the angel Gabriel to Nazareth, a town in Galilee, to a virgin pledged to be married to a man named Joseph, a descendant of David. The virgin’s name was Mary. The angel went to her and said, ‘Greetings, you who are highly favored! the Lord is with you.'”

“Mary was greatly troubled at his words and wondered what kind of greeting this might be. But the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, you have found favor with God. you will be with child and give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever; his kingdom will never end.”

“‘How will this be,’ Mary asked the angel, ‘since I am a virgin?'”

“The angel answered, ‘The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God. Even Elizabeth your relative is going to have a child in her old age, and she who was said to be barren is in her sixth month. For nothing is impossible with God.'”

“‘I am the Lord’s servant,’ Mary answered. ‘May it be to me as you have said.'” Then the angel left her.

(Luke 1:26-38)

“In those days, Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. [This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.] And everyone went to his own town to register.”

“So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”

(Luke 2:1-7)

Jesus, Simply Jesus

Merry Christmas!

{From the Archives} Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room: Preparing Your Heart for Christmas

12/10/201312/10/2013 Kathie Phillips

“Let every heart prepare Him room…”

Last year I introduced our Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room series, posts dedicated to Christmas reflections. Each Monday in December, through Christmas, we looked at different ways that you can make room for Jesus at Christmas. Today’s guest post was written by Kathy R. Bruce, my beloved Mom. Please visit her blog, The Looking Glass.

One year, a friend of mine wanted me to add more commitments to my already hectic schedule at Christmas. I told her that I could not squeeze anything else on my plate, to which she replied, “You need a bigger plate!”

Are others’ expectations of and for you crowding out the true meaning of Christmas? Are you so busy that you are forgetting what Christmas is all about? Is busyness stealing your joy? How can you prepare your heart to receive the Christ for Christmas?

I love Christmas. It’s one of my favorite times of year. Approximately a month before the big day, I begin to prepare my house by making room for all my treasured Christmas items. I pack up my photos, everyday dishes, mantel clock, and loads of trinkets to make room for my decorations, trees, gifts and cards. All of these things are carefully put in the perfect places where they can be beautifully displayed. I want everyone who visits our home to enjoy them as much as I do.

In all the preparations making room for my things, I can easily forget to make room for the main reason for the season. Yes, Christmas is for giving, loving, fellowship and glad tidings. But the main reason for this season is to celebrate the coming of The Lord Jesus Christ.

My desire is to celebrate His great love for me. To worship the One who put skin on and came to earth (via a humble birth) just to save me. That’s worth celebrating! So this and every Christmas going forward, I want to be intentional about preparing my heart for Christmas. I want to receive ALL He has for me. I want to be intentional about recognizing that He is The Lord of Lords and The King of Kings. No more stumbling over the manger on my way to embracing the good but not the best.

If you want to be intentional too, here are some ways to prepare your heart for the Christ of Christmas:

1. Tell God how much you desire to focus on Him.

2. Confess that you can become easily distracted and caught up in the ‘hoopla’ of the holidays.

3. Ask Him to speak to your heart and show you what making room for Him would look like in your life.

4. Listen to His voice. Is He asking you to stop the frenetic pace of life so that you can spend time with Him? Is He desiring that you spend your days in His Word rather than devouring latest Christmas magazines searching for ways to make your Christmas festive and meaningful?

5. Intentionally set time aside to be with the One whose birth you’re celebrating. How about the first moments of your day? Offer the day and its schedule to Him.

6. Go and offer the Hope of the World (and the real reason for Christmas) to everyone you meet. Offer Jesus.

In all your preparations to make this the merriest Christmas ever, remember that Jesus is the reason for the season. Jesus, Simply Jesus.

Kathy R. Bruce answered the call from God to ‘come to Me’ on Monday, June 23, 1980. Her journey with God so far has been transformational, to say the least. She has seen God enlarge her borders in many leadership capacities. In 2008, Kathy earned a certificate in Leadership from the Women’s Leadership Development Institute. Kathy is married to her biggest cheerleader, her husband John. They are parents to 4 grown children and grandparents to 7 grandchildren. She blogs regularly at The Looking Glass. You can also follow her on Twitter.