August 21, 2023 - BE INTENTIONAL BY BEING ATTENTIONAL!

A topic I have written about in the past is “Game Management” or “Clock Management” --- or event to the point of “Down Management” --- with the idea of playing to win each down. By that I was simply teaching that each snap of the ball matters… one can’t focus on the play before or the play after… the job has to be done in the now…

I though about this over the past week as I have had the opportunity to pour into some young men… to encourage them about the choices they make in life. The reality is that most of us waste a lot of time… more importantly, we waste a lot of opportunities!

Just like in a game, I want to learn to be more intentional by being more attentional (yes, that is a word, I looked it up.) There needs to be an attention to details to make the right “plays.”

Ephesians 5:16 states that the wise man will be “redeeming the time…” (Intentional) This comes what verse 15 commands… to “walk circumspectly.” (Attentional)

The other thing that prompted me to this point is the reminders of life’s fleeting status… it truly flies by and we need to take advantage of what opportunities we have. One of those reminders came from my dear friend Freddie Coile, who is battling brain cancer, yet is still not only preaching and doing his podcast but also still actively sharing the Gospel! And in his last podcast I sensed even a sweeter spirit about wanting to take advantage of time! (You should check out Focus on the Bible… Instagram = focus_pod)

The other was a sweet poem I read this morning… written by another dear friend that has been in a cancer battle… (that c-word tends to make us think about time!) Her name is Chela, and her testimony and smile throughout this battle is only understandable through the hope found in Jesus… the confidence found in God’s grace… the urgency found in “redeeming the time”…

The Thing About Life (Chela Armstrong)

A moment, an hour, a day, a year.

The clock strikes crescendo within my ear.

I’ve traveled, I’ve attained, I’ve accomplished success.

Yet the question remains, is it all meaningless?

Have you anything to show of the time that was spent?

The days, they would blend as they came and they went.

Regrets, are they heavy? Is there something undone?

What’s the purpose of life under the sun?

The thing I find curious; we live without thought.

Innumerable pleasures! What else have I sought?

Am i walking with Jesus? Am I holding His hand?

Do I give up the intimacy for other demands.

“There’s always tomorrow” but is that really true?

What is there to offer when I finally see you?

Will I cast any crowns as I worship your name?

Or will smoke fill your nostrils as I stand there ashamed?

Help me learn from the waste. Redeem what was lost.

I want to lean in, no matter the cost!

I press towards my goal of that heavenly prize.

I know it is worth it to look into your eyes

To hear your kind voice as all else is destroyed.

Well done, my daughter, now enter my joy!

BE INTENTIONAL BY BEING ATTENTIONAL!