October 2023

"All day long I will tell the wonderful things You do for Your people.
You have done much more than I could possibly know." ~ Psalm 71.15

Good morning,

Just when our days seem busier than ever and our schedules are begging for relief, a new super-power has commandeered our calendars and added even more.

Somewhere, hiding in their Madison Avenue penthouse, are the conniving manipulators who decided our days aren't busy enough. And with the flick of a click, these on-line calendar curators have assigned a new purpose for each day of the year – as though we don't already have one!

Here's a sampling of their predetermined days for this month…

• October 1 – Change a Lightbulb Day (Really? Change a lightbulb?)


• October 3 – Mean Girls Day (Seriously?)


• October 4 – National Golf Lovers Day (I didn't say they were all bad days!)


• October 9 – National Moldy Cheese Day (You can smell this day a mile away!)


• October 14 – National Dessert Day (I've cancelled all other appointments!)


• October 15 – National Grouch Day (It falls on a Sunday, so be prepared!)


• October 17 – National Mulligan Day (Just one day? I need 364 more!)


• October 20 – Information Overload Day (Sounds like a typical day to me!)


• October 26 – Howl at the Moon Day (Insert your own comment here.)


• October 27 – Cranky Co-workers Day (It's probably best to avoid naming names!)

Busy, busy, busy! And, if you're wondering how to navigate through your over-taxed and under-relaxed days, here's what the experts are telling us:

• Medical Doctors – "Get plenty of rest, exercise regularly and eat a healthy diet."


• Life Coaches – "Set goals, create a daily regimen and measure your progress."


• Mental Health Experts – "Make social connections and reduce stress by adding fun activities to your day." (One expert suggested rearranging furniture. Yeah, that's not gonna happen!)


• Time Management Advisors – "Avoid multitasking, and guard against unnecessary distractions." (Yeah, like rearranging furniture!)

We're all in a constant battle to make the best use of our limited time.

In Ecclesiastes, Solomon's dramatic autobiography, he exposed the dangers of filling our days with meaningless stuff "under the sun," a term meaning daily life, which he used 29 times. He then confessed his own stuff-filled journey was "vanity," a term he used 37 times.

Obviously, just being busy isn't the answer for a quality life or successful pastoring. There will always be more to do than we can accomplish. The demands of ministry can seem overwhelming at times.

Thankfully, Psalm 84 reminds us that, "A day in Your courts is better than a thousand outside. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of God than dwell in the tents of wickedness." (vs.10)

Days spent with the Lord, and in His service, are, in fact, the most satisfying of days.

The Jews understood that. When speaking about their calendar, they referred to the days of the week by their numerical order – i.e. the first day of the week, the second day of the week, etc. However, two days had special designations – the Sabbath, and the day prior to the Sabbath called the Day of Preparation. In other words, every day of the week was basically the same, except when God was the centerpiece.

When Moses prayed, "Teach us to number our days, that we may present to You a heart of wisdom," he was asking for divine help in evaluating how to best use his time in light of his limited number of days. (Ps 90.12)

That's the prayer of a very wise man.

If you're ever in doubt how to spend your day, "Sing to the Lord, bless His name; proclaim good tidings of His salvation from day to day. Tell of His glory among the nations, His wonderful deeds among all the peoples, for great is the Lord and greatly to be praised." (Ps 96.2-4)

Now that's a good day!

Blessings,