Currently I am living with an amazing family here in Michigan and Beth Kring, the mother of the family, sends out DT (Devotional Thought) emails randomly throughout the week to a great number of people that she is close to. I am very grateful to be an addition to the Kring family, and have been blessed far more than I deserve, and one of the many blessings is being on Beth's email list. Today I read the DT for yesterday that she sent out and was very inspired by it and I thought it would be a wonderful one to pass along to you :)
Thank you Beth!
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Today's Verse: Matthew 6:33 "But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you."
Think on this: This past week I was privileged to spend time with family, relax a bit, experience a great service at church and spend time with friends. This morning I was working on the annual Christmas letter I send out when I remembered an old story, perhaps you've heard it before.
A wise professor once taught his students a valuable life lesson about setting priorities by taking a large, wide-mouth jar and setting it on his desk. And into the jar he put some big rocks. When he finished, he asked his students, "Can the jar hold more?" The students agreed it could. So he poured some smaller rocks inot the jar. And he asked his students, "Is it full now?" And they replied: "Yes, the jar is full." But the teacher then poured sand into the jar which filtered down around the rocks. And he asked, "Now is the jar full?" And the students emphatically replied, "The jar is really full now." But the teacher said, "Wait!" Then he began pouring water into the jar. And the water soaked down around the rocks and the sand until it was brimming full. And the teacher said, "Now, is it full?" And the students replied, "Yes! Now it is truly full!"
This was his point: "If you want to live a full life, you need to begin by putting the big pieces in first!"
As I was recounting all that has happened since my last "Christmas Letter" I realized that although there were a number of "big pieces" it was often the small stuff that caught my time and attention. Did I short changed the really big stuff in my life? I want each day to start, end and be saturated with the peace and presence of Jesus and that won't happen without a conscience effort on my part to make it so.
As you officially enter into the holiday season I would challenge you to take a hard look at your "life jar". are you filling it with the things that matter most?
Worth repeating: "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen Covey
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hope you enjoyed Beth's wonderful insight today and were blessed by it just as I was!
