Just say it one time. “NO!” Say it again out loud “NO!” C’mon, say it like you mean it. “NO!”

It feels good doesn’t it. Chances are that “no” is a word that you could use more often. Sure we all say it when addressing our kids and pets and such, but how often do we say it when someone else is asking us for something.

Clarity please…

Here’s what I’m getting at. I’ve found that there is always something that is bidding for your time and my time. Some things are good things and some things are distractions. Our job is not necessarily to decipher the good from the bad, that is pretty obvious, but to decipher the good from the great. Good is usually the enemy of great. Trust me on this. I make more bad time management decisions than good ones. I’m an expert on wasting time. Just ask Daryl.

I’ve come to learn that we all have the same amount of time in our day. I’ve also learned that God has a plan for our lives. And it’s a good plan. The problem is that many of us have detoured off the “plan” that God has set for us and begun to bushwack our way through life. Rather than focusing on the things that are important we have let other things lure us away from the path. Simply put, we are to “follow the yellow brick road.”

Why do we get distracted? Sometimes a boss ask us to pick some extra tasks. Sometimes a friend drops by unannounced. Sometimes the weathers nice and we choose to go surfing. Sometimes the PTA asks for volunteers. Sometimes extra-curricular activities creep in. Sometimes a friend asks you to design a blog header for him.

In these moments we must choose between saying “yes” or “no.”  Every time you say “yes” to one thing, you inevitably are saying “no” to several others.  Just because someone asks you to do something does not mean you have to say “yes.”  Often times the best answer is “no.”  It is very easy to say “yes” to something good while telling ourselves that our family will understand.  The problem is that our family is the “great.”

This week focus on saying “yes” the “great” things in life and saying “no” to many of the good.  You’ll be surpised at the time you will have.

For me the great are:  being a husband, a dad, a pastor, a leader, and a friend.

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