“Do you want it? YES or NO?”

Holidays get more special every year as the “speed of life” increases.

When we were young, time started with a crawl….even when we started running around time was still “SLOW — Children Playing” ….hitting the school zone of life at 20 MPH before picking up speed through our 30s & 40s into mid-life.   Holiday mile markers come & go all the faster as you hit the highway speeds of life — 50, 55, 60, 65, 70…

My extended family’s mother-in-law, Ellie, will be 90 next year.  As I watched her watch us at Thanksgiving, I saw in her eyes a powerful reminder to CHOOSE how you will work & live.  The real “Thanksgiving” of her holiday was practicing what our late mentor called the “ministry of being WITH”…..while you CAN.   Missed deeply by us the past couple Thanksgivings was Ellie’s husband Bob.   At 95, he had discovered deep clarity about the simplicity of life and time.  “Do you want it?  YES or NO?” was Bob’s trademark.

Few have this clarity.   Most “go with the flow” and don’t author their own beliefs, prioritize what’s MOST important, and chart their own course on their Builder’s Journey.   As we re-iterated the importance of this at Practice #8 this Wednesday, the small team of 20 & 30 somethings realized that so-called “time management” really comes down to something very simple.    What do I say “yes” to, and WHY?   What do I say “no” to, and WHY?   What do I WANT, and why?

If like most, you find yourself going ever faster but with ever less MARGIN in your life, give yourself the gift of time over the upcoming holidays to SLOW DOWN, reflect, and write.   What do you WANT? Why?   Instead of “resolving” in 2014, “re-solve” what do you want to prioritize saying “yes” to?    Not DECIDING leads to a highway of just doing what you’ve done before, and “ass-enting” to more & more busy-ness — which is the clutter of life.

God, THANK you for those in my life and for those who have gone before me who CHALLENGE me to CHOOSE.

“Do you WANT it?  YES or NO?”