Living Life by Design

For over 30 years I’ve used a Franklin Planner to help me stay organized. I used to keep the old planners in storage boxes and proudly display them on a credenza or shelf. Every morning I would (and still do) write down a list of tasks I need to complete. I would then review them and ask, “What is the one task I can complete today, and if I do it well will make every other task not important or at very least, less important?” Once I answered that question I would focus my energy on completing that one task…second.

With my list in hand, I attack each day with a sense of urgency. There are deadlines to make, clients to serve, problems to solve, staff and loan officers to coach & encourage. I enjoy the feeling of being useful and needed…but then, who doesn’t. The thought that God would use me to make a positive difference someone’s life is at times overwhelming, but a joy and an honor, none the less.

The English clergyman and writer John Scott said, “No higher honor could be imagined than to be an instrument in the hand of Jesus Christ, to be at his disposal for the furtherance of his purposes, to be available whenever wanted for his service.” 

The Apostle Paul writes, ‘Become the kind of container God can use to present any and every kind of gift to his guests for their blessing’ (2 Timothy 2:20–21, MSG).

Being (daily) “useful to the master” and “instruments for noble purposes” starts the same way in which I sit every morning with my planner, and plan out my day. Task #1 is, and always has been the re-dedication of my life to his service, and a prayer for the Holy Spirit to fill me with the strength needed for the day ahead. 

What is your #1 task today?