Time is precious. Like Creation and all that we are blessed with, we should steward it carefully. We should number our days and even our hours and minutes.
This is why, in part, my philosophy on posting here is to err on the side of depth rather than frequency. (At least I hope I’m providing some depth!)
I do, however, come across good many articles and stories that I’d like to share with you.
An example is this piece, entitled Mangrove theology: Get stuck in and put down deep roots and written by Dave Bookless. It came to me through A Rocha International. Dave shares the insights he finds in Jeremiah 29:4-7 that relate to his own efforts to live out a Christian life that enriches rather than depletes God’s earth. And he makes a wonderful linkage between those ideas and deep-rooted mangroves.
I heartily encourage you to read it and explore more of Dave’s work.
I usually wouldn’t share an article like this through my blog. Through my Twitter account, however, I tweet links to articles and other news I believe are significant.
If you’d be interested in following me on Twitter, check me out here. Be assured. I’m not a tweeting machine. And you should know, in the spirit of full disclosure, the photo of me is very dated.
But if you follow me, you’ll come across some interesting, provocative thinking and information from around the world. I tend to tweet and retweet articles about what’s happening in the natural world and in the Christian world. I’m especially interested in where they overlap.
P.S. I know it’s a little contradictory to suggest you follow me on Twitter and also encourage you to be thoughtful with your time. In that spirit, I’d encourage you to check out two different resources on how to be thoughtful in your use of time. These can help be more focused on what matters most in your life, including your calling.
One resource is this article by Jake Knapp and John Zertasky that summarizes the main thoughts of their book Make Time: How to Focus on What Matters Everyday. The authors highlight the dangers of being sucked into what they call Infinity Pools. Infinity Pools are, to quote from the article, “…essentially apps and other digital sources of limitless, inexhaustible, constantly-replenishing content — whether it be information, entertainment or a bit of both.” Like YouTube, Facebook, and, yes, Twitter. Use them with great caution.
Along those lines, I suggest you check out the blog and work of Cal Newport. His latest book is Digital Minimalism, and he’s also written Deep Work, which I very much enjoyed.
His main themes in Deep Work are: (1) deep, concentrated work is where you will bring the most value to yourself and the world, and (2) social media, scattered busyness, and even open floor plan offices are dangerous distractions to that deep work.
Just as God sometimes prunes parts of our lives, we should proactively prune our time commitments. What is most important should get our full commitment. Do you struggle with this as I do?
