Looking before I Leap

Well August is here and with it comes all the hustle and bustle I excpected but wasn't quite prepared for.  Once again I'm starting to find myself doing a bunch of things that overlap.  I know I said was going to try and focus, perhaps what I need to do is work on looking before I leap. 

In recent years I've developed this tendency to just jump into things before really weighing the costs.  More recently I've been finding myself saying yes to something then later realizing that what I've said yes to conflicts with something else I've already committed to.  It's a little frusturating because there is so much to do and I want to do it all!  Unfortunately, there is only one of me and i can only be in so many places in 24hrs.  Also, like I said in an earlier post, when I over commit the quality of my service diminishes.  The depth of my effectiveness becomes dissapated.(though maybe me watered down is good, not many people can handle me full strength)

Right now, this first week of August I've been reminded that I can't stay in the Army.  All of this week I've been dividing my day between Army and other responsibilities.  Resulting in not enough time to do things that I need to do for myself.  Something odd about ministry, compared to other jobs, is that if you neglect to feed yourself spiritually and just rest in and with the Lord, you will be ineffective in ministry.  The nature of any effective ministry is a sharing and outpouring of life on life.  So if I'm empty then I'm not ready to give. 

Also it can be easy to fill my life with things I really don't need, things that have no spiritual value.  It's like drinking soda.  Soda has lots of calories, it can be filling and seemingly satisfying but the content of soda is useless.  Soda has little to no nutrients necessary for healthy living.  The same is true with life.  All around are activities and stuff I can choose to fill my life with, some seem fulfilling and enjoyable.  However, many of those things don't fully satisfy the soul's inner need. (Right now I wish I knew more greek and remembered more of Dr. Hahne's lectures so that I could go on a diatribe on saryx and stuff)

This week with all the back and forth and overlap I'm a little anxious about the next few months.  Already I'm trying to figure out what things I'm going to have to miss and which things I'll have to go to.  Frusturating...but necessary.