If time is a garden, let's yank those weeds!

Writers have so much to do!

Women writers, especially, have the emotional pull of family needs. Then, we all have research, writers groups, crit groups, some necessary socializing in a lonely business, definitely, church activities to keep us going strong, and, oh, yes, writing!

And only twenty-four hours in a day.

How do we choose which to-dos to--do?

Oswald Chambers reminds us, "The good is the enemy of the best." But, carried too far, the best becomes the enemy of the good, if we let perfectionism get in the way.

One way to choose our priorities is to think of time as a garden. And we must pull the weeds in order to see our garden grow.

I read an article by Paula Eder on a business webpage about setting time boundaries using a simple visualization. She suggests we imagine that our day is a garden. We want our beautiful, colorful dreams to flourish there.

So we must pull the weeds.

We do this by setting boundaries.

Every "no" we say to something that does not further our goals--success in writing, peace in the home, time with a hobby (is that a cruelty joke?) time with God--is a "yes" to those very things. To those accomplishments, blooms that make our lives worthwhile.

Every "yes" we say to other things is a weed in our garden. And they lead to a lack of peace inside us.

I would add, some weeds are even attractive. New friends. Lunch dates. Church committees. Service opportunities that lead to experience and fellowship and satisfaction. We should be flexible and spontaneous enough to enjoy them.

But when they clutter our garden, hinder our goals and steal our peace, we should pull them without guilt.

We can ask God for discernment in this, because these, and some acts of mercy may be led by him for His purposes. He could be leading us into new relationships, new knowledge to enhance our lives and therefore, our writing.

Or into mercy for His mercy's sake. And mercy is beautiful in our gardens.

Web of fear--pun intended

For what it's worth--not much--this is my 100th entry here.

Just read a news article online, of course, which says:

"I sit over my computer all day and feed my anxiety.

"The internet has created a global psyche. The web has mentally joined us at the hip, so we can no longer put our heads in the sand. If that sounds painfully contorted, it is because it is. Just as no country can decouple itself from the ailing global economy, none of us as individuals can decouple ourselves from the ailing global psyche. "

Yep, although always interested in Bible prophecy and current events, I never used to read the news this much before 9-11 and the proliferation of news sites. I do find politics and all fascinating.

If I weren't a Christian, I'd have terrible anxiety. As it is, I still fight some anxiety. If you want to pray specifically, the internet provides the specifics, all right. And the prayers come spontaneously, sometimes with wailing and gnashing of teeth.

But we are to remember 1 Peter 5:7, "Casting all of your cares upon Him, for He careth for you." And Matthew 10:29-30 NIV "Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered."

Writing a few courteous and specific emails to our reps in Congress wouldn't hurt, either. They say write one topic at a time. And that one person's well-presented opinion probably represents ten thousand more just like it.

We should be guiding and chiding them, and often. I am not in the habit of doing this as often as I should, either. Men and women have died for our freedom to make ourselves known.

Unless government OF the PEOPLE, BY the PEOPLE and FOR the PEOPLE is going the way of the dodo bird. Our Constitution along with it.

It's interesting to note that in Hebrew, the letters are also numbers, that they don't have a w, they use a v, their v is also 6, and therefore, www is...666. The Mark of the Beast.

No, of course, the internet is not all bad. It provides wonderful ops for fun as well as for mischief.

It's also a venue of communication and unity around the globe.

Sort of like a reversal of the Tower of Babel.

I also think the www/666 thing is kind of a visual wake-up call about where we are on God's time clock. Signs of the Times are appearing quickly.

For a daily list of articles about events that seem to fulfill the times, go here.

Pray.

Then run outside and play!