If you died today, would how I remember you be how you want to be remembered? I can say for most of us that’s an “absolutely NOT!”. Even if we are comfortable with how others see us I doubt anyone would be completely satisfied with how they see themselves. I know that I want to be a better person than I am now, but I am doing very little to be that better person.

     I have been trying for the past month or so to put together a list of things I want to stop doing and start doing in order to get closer to where I want to be on my walk with Christ. From this list I am finding ways that I can work towards that goal. For example: I want to try to be on the computer less; so, I have written on my calendar for every 3rd Monday of each month to remind me to not use any computer that day. Though one day a month won’t prevent me from over-using the computer the other 29 days of the month, it will help by decreasing the computer’s priority in my life. (which isn’t very high by the way)

     Another area I want to improve is making school work my priority. One of the means I have come up with to help prioritize school is to fast lunch once a month on a weekday. Fasting can be used for several different reasons, but all have a single purpose: a priority “reset button”. For most of us our priority around noontime is to eat, but when we substitute that with something else, say, prayer or school, we push that above eating lunch, and several other things are lowered along with lunch. This method is effective for nearly any area of life you want to prioritize. Not always will you want to sacrifice lunch, but I have found it to be one of the most effective.

In order to help pinpoint something in my life to prioritize, I start by making a list of things I do at a particular time, for this example let’s use when I first wake up.

  1. Alarm sounds at 7:30 and I gain conscience.
  2. I lie in bed for another 10-30 mins until I hear someone else downstairs.
  3. I mosey out of bed and go to take my morning bathroom break.
  4. I normally get dressed and turn on my computer to do school.
  5. Eat breakfast

Okay, short list, but I hope it gets my idea across. Now, I make another list of things I would ideally like to do in that time frame:

A. Read my Bible and pray.

B. Take a shower.

Now, I combine the two lists into an ideal morning, taking away some items and inserting the new ones appropriately. My list would look like this:

  1. Alarm sounds at 7:30 and I gain conscience.
  2. Read my Bible and pray.
  3. Get out of bed, go to the bathroom, and take a shower.
  4. Get dressed, eat breakfast, and start school.

Combating these issues may be rather difficult. I will discuss several ways to help put Bible reading higher up on your priority list.

  • Use a ten or twenty-dollar bill as a bookmark, after you’ve read a set amount of chapters/books you will treat yourself by spending your money. Every morning when you wake up and see that green bill sticking out of your Bible you have a reminder and a reason to read.
  • Meet with several friends or family members at breakfast to read the Bible. This does put the reading later on in time, but it also increases it’s priority by involving other people and providing accountability.
  • Sometimes breakfast can be sacrificed and replaced with reading the Bible. This is very similar to fasting lunch. Different from the other two suggestions which can be done every day, fasting should only be done at most once a week. Fasting every day is unhealthy and fasting 2-4 times a week can become part of your routine and not have as much of an impact, conversely, only fasting once or twice a year may not be frequent enough if you wanted to use this method to increase your Bible reading in the morning.

This approach to setting priorities has greatly helped me and I hope it will inspire you too. You must also keep in mind that these plans you make are not God’s. They may help you grow closer to Him, but often he has a greater and better plan for your life. If you make a plan and it is disrupted outside of your control, don’t fret, God is simply reminding you that your plans are inferior to His.

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