self control

February 21 – On Time

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Jen and I had been married a couple of years when I took a position as a youth coordinator in our community. My primary focus was a junior leadership council with an emphasis on entrepreneurship. That’s just a fancy way to say I was teaching a group of youngsters leadership skills through running a t-shirt and mug business. I found out pretty quickly I was over my head – I didn’t know the first thing about shirts or mugs.

Thankfully, I met a wonderful local merchant who was interested in working with us as a partner. As time clicked on, we started making progress. Orders were rolling in and I found myself spending a majority of my time down at her store. That part was great. But what I didn’t realize was how often I would tell Jen I was “on my way home” and didn’t actually leave for another thirty minutes or so (i.e., until I finished what I was working on).

So one day, the owner of the store (who was and is a dear friend) said, “How does your wife feel about you telling her you are on your way and you don’t leave here until quite a bit later?” I thought to myself, “Jen understands I’m working. She knows I don’t mean to be late.” I’m sure I had a puzzled look plastered across my face as I told her I didn’t know how Jen felt about it. She encouraged me to ask her. So I did. I will never forget that day. With tears in her eyes, Jen communicated to me that she had been praying God would somehow help me understand how much it means to her for me to be on time. “If you’re not sure when you’ll be here, just tell me.”

Because I am a “one-task-at-a–time” person, I often find it a challenge to break away and move on to the next assignment. And thus, punctuality is always a constant work in progress. But that does not excuse its importance. God is all about timeliness. Now, don’t misunderstand, He controls the clock! Things might not happen when you think they should, but it won’t be because He’s late. And as for you and me, one of the greatest gifts we can give each other is the gift of punctuality—be on time. If you are like me, don’t beat yourself up if you know your struggle, just receive the correction and get going in the right direction!

The Character First I WILL’s for Punctuality:

I WILL be at the right place at the right time

I WILL prepare for unexpected delays

I WILL do my work ahead of time

I WILL plan a daily schedule and keep it

I WILL not fall into the trap of “just one more”

God gives a hand to those down on their luck, gives a fresh start to those ready to quit. All eyes are on you, expectant; you give them their meals on time. Generous to a fault, you lavish your favor on all creatures. Psalms 145:14-16 Message Bible

 Biblical Meditation: Ecclesiastes 3:1a There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven:

 

February 14 – A Lady Named Abigail

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I challenge you to read up on Abigail Adams. The wife of our second president, John Adams, Mrs. Adams has much to say to this present generation concerning our ability to control “self.” She was known for her ability to look a bad situation in the eye and say something good. One story I recently read told about her month-long voyage across the Atlantic Ocean to meet her husband and son following a seven-year separation.

The trip was long and grueling in tight quarters with few amenities. After weeks of sailing through storms and fighting seasickness, Mrs. Adams became the encourager of the passengers and crew alike. Instead of giving into her anger at losing even their bare necessities in the storm and the almost disgusting state of the inside of the ship, she decided to pick one project a day that would better their surroundings until the entire ship had been scrubbed from end to end.

After the arduous trip was over, Mrs. Adams still faced another test. Upon arriving in London, she soon found that her husband wasn’t even there, he was in Paris. Many encouraged her to hop on a ship to France. And she was torn with misery at the prospect of waiting several more weeks for her husband after such a long time.

But she finally decided to stay right where she was, according to the original plan her husband had made. What she did not know then was that Mr. Adams was already on his way to meet her. Acting impulsively would have only prolonged their lengthy separation!

I think of Abigail Adams sometimes, in the day-to-day moments of needing self-control. I heard one woman speaking about this subject and I loved her take on it. She said, “Our response is usually that we CAN’T stop yelling, or cussing, or speeding, or whatever. But the truth is that we CAN!

Just watch a woman who’s been yelling at everyone open her front door to the Kirby salesman. Guess what? Her face totally changes, and she greets him with a smile as she says, “Come on in!”

Isn’t that a funny picture? You bet we can exhibit self-control when we WANT TO. I challenge you to read Galatians 5 when you have some time. Paul says that one of the fruits of the Spirit is self-control.

This means that you have the ability to control “self” inside of you, right now, if you have given your life over to the Lord. Self-control is internal. It’s all about putting the right things inside of your “toothpaste tube” so when pressure comes, the right things will come out!

Spend some time today in God’s Word, ask the Lord to “set a watch over your mouth,” and practice moment by moment putting “self” in its place. You’ll be glad you did!

The Character First I WILL’s for Self-Control:

I WILL not act impulsively

I WILL not equate desires with rights

I WILL set my own limits

I WILL see anger as a sign that something is wrong

I WILL walk away from things that aren’t right

Jenny 🙂

The end of all things is near. Therefore be clear-minded and self-controlled so that you can pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4:7-8 NIV

Biblical Meditation: Psalms 141:3 Set a guard over my mouth, O LORD; keep watch over the door of my lips.