Busyness
Today our lives are so fast paced and it never seems to slow down. I don't see how some parents have their children involved in numerous activities such as dance, music, sports, etc. We have four children, three of whom are teenagers. They are all active in one sport at a time. A couple have had music lessons at different times. I do not see how all this activity is helpful to children or family life. Part of life is learning to spend quiet times by oneself...learning to reflect on life and prayerfully developing spiritual disciplines that will mean so much more than all the activities one could cram into a life.
The one thing that our family really zeros in on is having dinner together each evening. It is a ritual that we still keep today. Granted if my husband's schedule changes he is not present but in that case we all have breakfast together but at least the children and I have dinner together every single night. Time spent with the family is very important to both of us. This is when we can bond with our teens and they can share what is on their hearts (at least those that are in a talkative mood that day!) I feel we are too busy at times but I know that there are many other families in our town that are so incredibly busy that it is affecting their lives in detrimental ways. They may not see it yet but one cannot continue at such a fast pace, pushing children, racing here and there without some sort of consequence taking place from all the frantic running around.
I read a story once that has stayed with me for years now. It was called B.U.S.Y. and it stood for Being Under Satan's Yoke. I have added it below:
Are You Too Busy For Christ?Keep The Christians Busy
Satan called a worldwide convention.In his opening address to his assembled demons he said:"We cannot keep the Christians from going to church. We cannot keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We cannot even keep them from conservative values. Nevertheless, we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.
So, let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyle, but steal their time, so they cannot gain that relationship.This is what I want you to do. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection!""How shall we do this?" shouted the demons."
Keep them busy with the non-essentials of life. Invent schemes to occupy their time." he answered."Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6 or 7 days a week, 10 - 12 hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Also:
Super-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice.
Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, and to keep the TV, VCR, CD players and PCs going constantly in their homes. See to it that every store and restaurant in the world blares secular music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.
Fill their coffee tables with secular magazines and newspapers.
Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.
Invade their driving moments with billboards.
Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services, and false hopes.
In their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week.
Do not let them go out in nature to reflect on God' s wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and movies instead.
When they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion.
Let them be involved in soul-winning, but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ in prayer. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."
Convention Aftermath
It was quite a convention. The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there. Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge. How about this definition of BUSY: Being Under Satan's Yoke.
Author Unknown
I think that pretty much sums up what I desired to say...today has been hard. I have been rushing around picking up children from practice, taking two to FCA, running an errand for another child, typing a paper for another who has great difficulty typing, cooking dinner, cleaning up, on and on and on....I needed to be reminded of this wonderful story. I pray that it ministers to someone else like it has ministered to me.
Praising Him in ALL things,
Proverbs31Mom-Vickie
The one thing that our family really zeros in on is having dinner together each evening. It is a ritual that we still keep today. Granted if my husband's schedule changes he is not present but in that case we all have breakfast together but at least the children and I have dinner together every single night. Time spent with the family is very important to both of us. This is when we can bond with our teens and they can share what is on their hearts (at least those that are in a talkative mood that day!) I feel we are too busy at times but I know that there are many other families in our town that are so incredibly busy that it is affecting their lives in detrimental ways. They may not see it yet but one cannot continue at such a fast pace, pushing children, racing here and there without some sort of consequence taking place from all the frantic running around.
I read a story once that has stayed with me for years now. It was called B.U.S.Y. and it stood for Being Under Satan's Yoke. I have added it below:
Are You Too Busy For Christ?Keep The Christians Busy
Satan called a worldwide convention.In his opening address to his assembled demons he said:"We cannot keep the Christians from going to church. We cannot keep them from reading their Bibles and knowing the truth. We cannot even keep them from conservative values. Nevertheless, we can do something else. We can keep them from forming an intimate, abiding relationship with Christ. If they gain that connection with Jesus, our power over them is broken.
So, let them go to church, let them have their conservative lifestyle, but steal their time, so they cannot gain that relationship.This is what I want you to do. Distract them from gaining hold of their Savior and maintaining that vital connection!""How shall we do this?" shouted the demons."
Keep them busy with the non-essentials of life. Invent schemes to occupy their time." he answered."Tempt them to spend, spend, spend, then borrow, borrow, borrow. Convince the wives to go to work for long hours and the husbands to work 6 or 7 days a week, 10 - 12 hours a day, so they can afford their lifestyles. Keep them from spending time with their children. As their family fragments, soon their homes will offer no escape from the pressures of work. Also:
Super-stimulate their minds so that they cannot hear that still small voice.
Entice them to play the radio or cassette player whenever they drive, and to keep the TV, VCR, CD players and PCs going constantly in their homes. See to it that every store and restaurant in the world blares secular music constantly. This will jam their minds and break that union with Christ.
Fill their coffee tables with secular magazines and newspapers.
Pound their minds with the news 24 hours a day.
Invade their driving moments with billboards.
Flood their mailboxes with junk mail, sweepstakes, mail order catalogs, and every kind of newsletter and promotional offering, free products, services, and false hopes.
In their recreation, let them be excessive. Have them return from their recreation exhausted, disquieted, and unprepared for the coming week.
Do not let them go out in nature to reflect on God' s wonders. Send them to amusement parks, sporting events, concerts, and movies instead.
When they meet for spiritual fellowship, involve them in gossip and small talk so that they leave with troubled consciences and unsettled emotion.
Let them be involved in soul-winning, but crowd their lives with so many good causes they have no time to seek power from Christ in prayer. Soon they will be working in their own strength, sacrificing their health and family for the good of the cause."
Convention Aftermath
It was quite a convention. The demons went eagerly to their assignments causing Christians everywhere to get busy, busy, busy and rush here and there. Has the devil been successful at his scheme? You be the judge. How about this definition of BUSY: Being Under Satan's Yoke.
Author Unknown
I think that pretty much sums up what I desired to say...today has been hard. I have been rushing around picking up children from practice, taking two to FCA, running an errand for another child, typing a paper for another who has great difficulty typing, cooking dinner, cleaning up, on and on and on....I needed to be reminded of this wonderful story. I pray that it ministers to someone else like it has ministered to me.
Praising Him in ALL things,
Proverbs31Mom-Vickie
posted by Vickie at
6:27 PM
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