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Key Bible Verse: Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Bonus Reading: 1 Timothy 4:7-10

Kids will wait forever to practice, start their homework, or clean their rooms. We adults are much the same. Calls and letters go unanswered, repairs go unmade. We intend to do them "when I feel like it" or "when I have to." Since those times come erratically, today's molehill quietly grows into tomorrow's stressful mountain.

Our responsibilities cease flowing uncontrollably when we grab a calendar and assign them a time. Set a time to assign time blocks for the coming week. Remember, the anchor of your schedule is your quiet centers: your Lord, your wife, your family. In the spaces left around those centers, courageously assign time blocks to your other known commitments. Deciding in advance eliminates the stress of those predictable tasks chasing you until they catch you.

I found it frustrating at first to commit to a regular dinnertime at home. I preferred an open-ended day, unaware of the uncertainty I was causing my family. Finally realizing that there'll always be one more thing to do, I set a boundary on my office day. The family makes its plans around my commitment now. And I'm starting to enjoy the predictability.

—Ron Hutchcraft in Living Peacefully in a Stressful World

My Response: How am I taking charge of the predictable sector of my time?

Thought to Apply: Procrastination is the thief of time.—MR. MICAWBER (in Charles Dickens's David Copperfield)

Adapted from Living Peacefully in a Stressful World (Discovery, 1985, 2000) by permission.

Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine. Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity.

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Prayer for the Week

Lord, I want to use the time you've given me in ways that yield long-term significance.

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