Big Rocks
A while back I was reading about an expert on subject of time management. One day this expert was speaking to a group of business students and, to drive home a point, used an illustration I'm sure those students will ever forget. After I share it with you, you'll never forget it either.
As this man stood in front of the group of high-powered overachievers he said, "Okay, time for a quiz." Then he pulled out a one-gallon, wide-mouthed mason jar and set it on a table in front of him. Then he produced about a dozen fist-sized rocks and carefully placed them, one at a time, into the jar. When the jar was filled to the top and no more rocks would fit inside, he asked, "Is this jar full?" Everyone in the class said, "Yes." Then he said, "Really?" He reached under the table and pulled out a bucket of gravel. Then he dumped some gravel in and shook the jar causing pieces of gravel to work themselves down into the spaces between the big rocks. Then he smiled and asked the group once more, "Is the jar full?" By this time the class was onto him. "Probably not," one of them answered. "Good!" he replied. And he reached under the table and brought out a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in and it went into all the spaces left between the rocks and the gravel. Once more he asked the question, "Is this jar full?" "No!" the class shouted. Once again he said, "Good!" Then he grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it in until the jar was filled to the brim. Then he looked up at the class and asked, "What is the point of this illustration?" One eager beaver raised his hand and said, "The point is, no matter how full your schedule is, if you try really hard, you can always fit some more things into it!" "No," the speaker replied, "that's not the point. The truth this illustration teaches us is: If you don't put the big rocks in first, you'll never get them in at all." The title of this letter is The "Big Rocks" of Life. What are the big rocks in your life? A project that YOU want to accomplish? Time with your loved ones? Your faith, your education, your finances? A cause? Teaching or mentoring others? Remember to put these BIG ROCKS in first or you'll never get them in at all.
What I Need
I need a strength to keep me true
And straight in whatever I do.
I need a power to keep me strong
When I am tempted to do wrong.
I need a grace to keep me pure
When passion tries its deadly lure.
I need a love to keep me sweet
When hardness and mistrust I meet.
I need an arm to be my stay
When dark with trouble grows by day;
And nothing on earth can these afford,
But all is found in Christ my Lord.
Author Unknown
Prayer while Shopping during Advent
Dear God, as I look through my gift shopping list, I hold up to you each person listed on it. Slowly, one by one, I ask that the fire of your abundant love burn within each of them. I pray that the gift I find for each person will bring joy into that life.
But, help me to keep a balance this season, Lord. Let me keep my buying in perspective, not to spend more than I need to or can afford. Let me not give in to the pressures of this world and not equate love with money spent. Let me always remember the many, many people who have so much less in material things. Help me to buy wisely, so that my choices will not burden those in other countries who are so deeply affected by this country's economy.
And finally, loving God, help me to find time in the frantic moments of each day to become centered on you. Walking through a store, riding on the bus, hurrying down a street: let each of these times be moments when I can remember your incredible love for me and rejoice in it.
FIVE WAYS TO HAVE A MORE JOYFUL CHRISTMAS
1. STOP, LOOK, AND LISTEN:
If you discover yourself becoming dulled to the joys of the season, STOP! Slow the pace down and become still, taking time to LOOK and LISTEN. Take a winter walk, curl up in a favorite chair or before the fireplace. Helen Keller once observed, "The seeing see little." So feel the comfort of the glow of a candle, or the red of the poinsettias. Listen with new ears to laughter and bells, and to the expression of love of found in the story of the first Christmas.
2. BE WILLING TO BE SURPRISED:
Remember that God can come in the least likely ways - a Holy Child born in a village stable, a brightly shining star, an angel song in the night sky. Watch for Him to come in equally surprising ways to you, too. When we live as if God is going to "surprise" us at any moment, in any way, in any place, then He usually does!
3. FIND WAYS TO ANTICIPATE CHRISTMAS:
How about keeping an advent calendar? Commit yourself to perform at least one special act of kindness for each day of advent. Write a note, letter, card or e-mail to someone to express your gratitude, to tell someone you love them, to forgive an old hurt, or just to count your blessings.
4. FREE YOUR CHILDLIKE SPIRIT:
Jesus held up childlikeness as a quality to be cultivated (Mark 10:15). Children are experts at dreaming up simple things as delights that adults don't, or have forgotten how to do. Can't you picture a little boy singing "Jingle Bells" to a plastic Jesus in a store? Christmas often comes in precious moments like this, when we spontaneously show our adoration for the Baby in the manger.
5. SHARE THE SPIRIT OF CHRISTMAS WITH SOMEONE ELSE:
Nothing multiplies the sense of wonder in your life like giving it away. The more you share (not just things, but yourself) the brighter Christmas grows.
I hope that these simple steps will help you, or someone you can share these with, keep the wonder and excitement of Christmas alive during this busy season.
Just remember that "Jesus is the reason for the season."
Feast of St. Ambrose - December 7
St. Ambrose
Sacred Lord, Saint Ambrose was called "the honey-tongued doctor" because of his gift of preaching and his reputation as an expert on Church doctrine. Words were very important to him and he said, "Let no word escape your lips in vain or be uttered without depth of meaning." I ask him to pray for me to gain appreciation for the right use of language. O My Jesus, keep me from speaking profane, slanderous or condemning words. Teach me to be silent when I am tempted to speak unkindly. May my words be like rivers, clean and pure, moving others closer to You. Saint Ambrose, pray for me. Amen.
Advent Day 9 - Mountaintop Vision |
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Continuing with our focus on Isaiah, during the beginning of Advent, the prophet asserts, “Many peoples shall come and say, ‘come let us climb the Lord’s mountain…that he may instruct us in his ways and we may walk in his paths’” (Is 2:3).
For the classical philosophers, wisdom is obtained from the hilltop, because the hilltop is where we see how everything fits together and finds harmony. It is a place of rarified air and clarity of vision. And it is precisely this place that the Church calls us to witness the connection whereby we all remain uniquely ourselves but are also all united to each other through love.
The problem is that sin blocks this view and prevents this union. We are caught in the myriad debates, disagreements, and battles predicated upon our own wills, and we lose sight of the larger picture.
From our vantage point, the world is not like the vision Isaiah presents. But it should be, and it will be under the direction of God’s grace. Consider Isaiah's next line: “He will judge between the nations, and impose terms on many peoples. They shall beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks” (Is 2:4).
Here is one of the most powerful and important elements of this mountain-top vision. The divine center will establish an ordo, a design, among the nations. And the great sign of this will be peace. The nations will take their weapons of war and turn them into instruments of cultivation.
What's the lesson for us today, during Advent? When we see the world clearly, our energies are properly directed and they become life-giving and not death-dealing. So what are you doing today to catch Isaiah’s vision and bring life into the world?
December 7 I am with you in all that you do, even in the most menial task. I am always aware of you, concerned with every detail of your life. Nothing escapes My notice—not even the number of hairs on your head. However, your awareness of My Presence falters and flickers; as a result, your life experience feels fragmented.When your focus is broad enough to include Me in your thoughts, you feel safe and complete. When your perception narrows so that problems or details fill your consciousness, you feel empty and incomplete. Learn to look steadily at Me in all your moments and all your circumstances. Though the world is unstable and in flux, you can experience continuity through your uninterrupted awareness of My Presence. Fix your gaze on what is unseen, even as the visible world parades before your eyes. “Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don’t be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”
—Matthew 10:29–31 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
—2 Corinthians 4:18 |
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