5th Sunday after Pentecost, June 27th
Read Colossians 3: 9-10
Winning the day can become a habit if we know how to develop healthy routines. This summer we are considering 7 habits that can help you begin your day with a sense of accomplishment and purpose. Making these habits part of your daily routine can/will motivate you to achieve more significant victories throughout your day.
This morning we will explore habit number #3, called "Eat the Frog." It comes from Mark Twain's idea that if you must eat a frog, do it first thing in the morning (p.69). This means the tasks that you want to procrastinate should be taken care of as early as possible so that the rest of your day is easy. When we put aside procrastination, we choose to be productive and start our day off with accomplishment before we even get into the bulk of our day. Each new day is a chance to bring about change and form new habits that will lead us to a more productive and healthier lifestyle.
Each day is like a golden egg... You shouldn't rush it, but you have to pay attention to the hen. We all have to wait, examine, treasure, and value each golden day. Are you aware of what happens to those that want everything right now? They kill the hen and get nothing. Instead, try feeding your omnivores-self "one frog" at a time and watch yourself enter into the golden age.
So many of us fail to institute good, healthy routines because we have convinced ourselves that we do not have the time to do them or they are too small to matter. As long as we leave it up to our schedules, this sentiment will always be true.
We do not find time to do these things; we make time. Making the time means deciding your schedule for yourself and not letting your schedule decide for you. Making the time means starting each day with a win. Start the day with a victory. Set aside time for prayer, meditation, Bible reading, exercise, or something as simple as completing a chore. Whatever that little victory looks like to you, make time to start the day with that.
In Paul's letter to the church in Colossians, he gives the imagery of losing our old self and putting on a new identity—the identity of Christ. We are a new creation, a new person when we come to Christ. In the same way, we must put away old, bad habits and start to implement new, healthy habits.
