Sunday, March 9, 2008

Prioritize the Big Rocks First



Hmmm.....you are probably wondering why in the world I am writing about rocks today. Good question, but they do serve a pretty important purpose! (Don't worry!) Rocks are going to be a symbol of our priorities in life--you know, the things we do. Our life is a lot like a bowl. If I had a bucket of rocks of different shapes and sizes and asked you to fill the bowl with the rocks, how would you put them in the bowl? Well, you would put all of the big rocks in the bowl first. If you put all the little rocks in the bowl first, there wouldn't be any room for the big rocks! So you place the big rocks in the bowl and then you let all of the little rocks fill the cracks and holes left over. Our life is a lot like that bowl. We have a ton of "stuff" that we do. Activities and priorities like school, work, friends, family, church, etc. All of these things are good things, but where does Jesus fit in? With our crazy schedule, it is really easy to put God last. A great way to prioritize what is important in your life is by identifying your big rocks and little rocks. Here, I will even give you an example!

My BIG ROCKS:

  • Spending time with God
  • Spending time with my family
  • School
  • My God-given dreams and goals

My LITTLE ROCKS:

  • Time with friends
  • Internet (ie. Facebook, e-mail, etc.)

You see, my little rocks are still important in my life, but before I can do my "little rocks" I need to make sure I have taken care of my big rocks. When I put God first in my life by spending time with Him in the morning, I am reminded throughout the day that I need to look to Jesus for everything. Even if my day is not going so great, I can trust Jesus through it all! Jesus even demonstrated this whole big rocks thing in Mark 1:35. The Bible says, "Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went off to a solitary place, where He prayed." See, Jesus put spending time with His Father first and foremost and that helped Him through His day! Pretty cool, right?

Now it is your turn. Categorize the different things in your life and see what is ruling your heart. You may be surprised at what you find!

1 comment:

Erika and Jeremy said...

Little Sister,
You have a way of challenging people just like your Dad! In the Bible God promises that He will NEVER leave me nor forsake me! If someone promised me something like that I would do whatever it took to be near Him. You have a way with your words and continue to encourage Jeremy and I ever time we read your blog! You are an inspiration to us and we have loved being a part of your life for the last few weeks and can't wait to see where life takes us! We love you~
E & J