The Monday Memo from John Stanko

599: Time and Events

Last week I shared with you my activities during the month of April, making it one of my busiest months ever.  I have been taking it a day at a time, and so far, things have gone well. I have sensed God's help, but I have had to make the most of almost every available minute, which reminded me of a Memo I wrote a few years ago.  It is pertinent today, so I thought I would share it with you again.

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Time management is one of the toughest disciplines in life, but critical to achieving purpose and goals, so I thought I would devote the next few weeks to that topic.  If you don't need any input on time management, then you can take a few weeks off, but should spend your time reading about how to tell the truth!  Truth be told, we all need help where time management is concerned.

A MISNOMER  

Time management is the wrong definition of what you need. You don't need help managing time, for time cannot be managed. It goes by at the same pace it always has. You cannot save it, slow it down, speed it up or recover it once it's gone. You cannot manage time; you can only manage the events that occur within the time that you have.  Rather than call it time management, we should really think of it as event management.

Let me give you an example. There is nothing special about 6 AM, until you set your alarm for 6 AM.  The wake up call is the event that takes place at 6 AM. Then you have to be at work at 7:30, so you must manage a series of events to insure you are there on time. Those events include showering, breakfast, devotions, getting the children off, and the commute to work. There is nothing you can do about the 90 minutes to get to work from the time you get out of bed; it will pass as every 90 minute segment of time has always passed. There are a lot of things you can do, however, to manage the events that occur in those 90 minutes. What you do in them will determine whether or not you are successful, defined by being on time or late for work.

The rest of your life is like that as well. You have 24 hours every day; you just don't know how many 24 hour units you have ahead of you. My mother passed away at 92 years of age; a young child of five who attended my church was killed in a house fire a few years ago. Your times are truly in His hands, and you have the duty and joy of making the most of every day that you have on earth. You will do that by managing the events therein as best you can.

EVENT MANAGEMENT  

In past Memos, I have told you that you have all the time in the world, and it's true. You have 24 hours for every day you are alive, the same as everyone else. Then why can some produce so much and others seem to struggle just to get through the day?  It's because the productive person understands the difference between time and event control.

So perhaps you should start by doing a simple time inventory to determine exactly what events are filling the time you have.  It's not so complicated to do and you can read two articles I have about it on my website (see the Organization section). You can get started this week by learning where you are investing or spending your time. After that, you can see what you need to stop doing so you can embrace new activities and goals that will bring you more joy and fulfillment and more in line with your governing values.  As you work on your inventory in the days ahead, I know you will have a great week!

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KENYA: You can read my latest updates from Kenya concerning the container resources that are being distributed here (the child at left is modeling the jeans and shoes we sent over-click to enlarge). Of course the needs are still great, but we are making a difference.  To help continue that difference, please give a generous contribution through my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882. Thank you and God bless you for your generosity.

A NEW PAGE: I have added a new page to my website that contains many of my spoken messages from the past along with my archived Saturday morning radio shows. This is my gift to you, made possible in large part by my son's untiring efforts to convert many of my old messages from cassette to MP3 files. Thank you J3!  I hope you find things on this page that are helpful to you.  I will update it from time to time as we convert other messages and as the radio show continues to gain momentum here locally.

598: The Month Ahead

I trust you had a blessed Resurrection Day celebration and that you are ready to continue to make room for resurrection power in your life on a daily basis. I just completed a month-long study of time management principles in my daily devotional, and today I begin a month-long series on organization, the fourth of my five Gold Mine Principles. Permit me to share with you some of the highlights of what I learned and how I will apply that in the coming month.

THE MONTH AHEAD  

1. I am working on four book projects that I want to complete this month. When I think of them, I get intimidated and even overwhelmed. So I am controlling my self-talk to manage my anxiety, and I am encouraging myself that I can do all things through Christ who helps me.  I am counting on His help.
2. I teach four college classes in April on Monday, Wednesday and Friday nights and one on Saturday morning. I have never taught three of these classes. I am counting on God's help so I can prepare and deliver so that the students are impacted and changed.
3. I preach three times in the next five weekends in a total of 11 services. God will help me as He always has to speak through me to His people.
4. I faciliate The Pacific Institute IIE seminar two days this month. Those are all-day presentations, along with one all-day faculty meeting. God will provide me the grace to do well and help those present learn and apply the principles.

All this is in addition to my pastoral duties, my nine radio show, 30 daily devotionals, five weekly Monday Memo, and two regular online Bible studies from Romans and other projects and assignments that will undoubtedly present themselves for attention this month.

THE KEY

The key for the month of April will be to control my fear and ask God to ''stop the sun" just like Joshua did in Joshua 10. I am trusting the Lord for the time and energy to carry out the things I believe He wants me to do. As I mentioned in all four items above, I am counting on God's help. Now is the time for the truth of Philippians 4:13 to flow through my life: "I can do all things through Him who strengthens me."

Now if I can attempt all these things in April, what more can you do?  You don't have to do the same things as I or as many things, but I am certain you can do more things than you are planning right now. Don't quote Philippians 4:13 and then have an April iike every other April. Apply the resurrection life we celebrated yesterday to your schedule and write the poetry, compose the song, go back to school or visit your family in that resurrection power.

I am challenged by the April ahead, but I am confident in God, and not my own capabilities.  Yet I am prepared to do my part, which is trust Him and apply myself, and then trust Him for the rest. And I will report back to you the first Monday in May to let you know how we (God and I) did for the month.  Have a blessed week and month ahead.

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EXCITING KENYA UPDATE: You don't want to miss this exciting update on little Mary as she sets out for her new boarding school. I have read it many times already, and I helped write it!  After you have read, allow resurrection power to flow through your giving either by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882 or using my website. Thank you for your help, and of course, Mary thanks you, too.

A NEW PAGE: I have added a new page to my website that contains many of my spoken messages from the past along with my archived Saturday morning radio shows. This is my gift to you, made possible in large part by my son's untiring efforts to convert many of my old messages from cassette to MP3 files. Thank you J3!  I hope you find things on this page that are helpful to you.  I will update it from time to time as we convert other messages and as the radio show continues to gain momentum here locally.

595: A Gift of Snow

This month I am focusing my daily devotional on time management. They are part of a larger devotional called Purpose Pearls, which are all devoted to the five Gold Mine Principles of purpose, goals, time management, organization and faith. You can check them out and even subscribe to receive them daily on my personal blog site.

This past Wednesday we had a snow storm that dumped about 12 inches of snow at my house, while delivering considerably less in other parts of my city. That snow was a gift from God for me!  Why do I say that?  To get the answer, you will have to read on.

A DAY AT HOME

When I teach about time, I always go to the story in Joshua 10 where Joshua asked the Lord to stop the sun so he could finish the task at hand. In other words, Joshua was asking for more time. God answered his prayer and stopped the sun in the sky for about a day.  Joshua had faith for more time, prayed accordingly and God heard him. 

I then challenge my listeners to have faith for the time they need, just they would have for money, ministry or other miracles. This past week I was asking God to 'stop the sun' because I had a book manuscript for which I needed time to finish. I did not see where that time was coming from, but I had the manuscript ready to work on whenever God opened the door.

Then Wednesday came, and I worked about 12 hours on the book, finishing the first draft.  Now I will edit, write the introduction and conclusion and I will send it off to the publisher.  Yet this snowy gift did not work as it did if I did not have the manuscript ready, if I did not prepare in faith for the time I knew was coming. Wednesday worked because I had faith and something ready to fill the time.

YOUR SNOW GIFT

Are you ready for a snowy gift like mine, to help you get done what is before you?  Or do you now know what to do with those time gifts when they come along?  The key for last Wednesday is that I didn't try to find something to do on that day; I had something ready to do on that day. I had the faith, but my faith led to action.  I did what I could do and God did the rest.

How would you use a gift of a day like I got last week?  Do you know? If not, then start preparing in faith for just such a day.  But don't waste it on just busy work, but rather invest it in a high priority project that will have significant long-term returns. I am still thanking God for that gift of snow and it's almost a week later. His gift of time has enhanced my worship and now I have faith for another project and I can't wait to see how He will reward my faith this next time. Be blessed and have a great week!

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WHAT SHOULD I TELL PASTOR FRANCIS? I pose this question in this update from Kenya.  Let me know how I should respond by sending your gifts to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882 or by giving through my website.

LAST CALL FOR THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE:  I start the TPI training this coming Thursday here in Pittsburgh. If you are interested, you need to write me right away.  I have 12 people, so there is always room for one more. God used this seminar to change my life and He can and will do the same thing for you.

590: Ruthless Deadlines

I am in Kenya with 15 others for two weeks.  I departed last Thursday and we arrived on Friday. I was so busy leading up to our departure that I did not have a moment to spare, since there were things I had to get done before I left the country.  By God's grace, I got them all finished but reflected on what I have often said when asked how I can write and accomplish so many other things. You will have to read on to see my answer.

TRAVEL

When asked about my productivity and how I can accomplish what I do, I used to answer, "It's because I travel."  Some would not understand, since for them travel was a confusing time that upset their routine and caused them to be less productive. For me, however, the travel created deadlines that forced me to get things done.

When I was not traveling, I would often think when confronted with something I wanted to do, "I can get that done later or next week.  That's going to take an hour and I can find an hour some time in the near future."  I would procrastinate and wait for some other opportune moment to dive into the task or project.  When I would travel, however, I did not have the luxury of waiting.  I often had to get things done using every moment at my disposal to finish the work.

That's how it was last week. I had one task, for example, that I had put off all month.  Last week I had one hour before I left for the airport. I forced myself to try and use that hour to start the project, convinced I did not have enough time.  I started and finished the task, much to my surprise.  Why?  I had a ruthless deadline before me that had to be honored.  I could not do the task in Kenya, so I was forced to sit down and do it.

RUTHLESS DEADLINES

I utilize ruthless deadlines when I publish. I will get a final, no-exceptions deadline from my publisher for my manuscript, and I have to get it done no matter what.  Without honoring that deadline, I am not sure I would have the books I have. Every day last week, my to-do list was full and I used every moment. When I got on the plane last Thursday, I said to someone, "That's all I can do. I got it all done by God's grace."

I don't think I could live like I did last week all the time. There was too much pressure, too much making the most of every minute of the day.  That's not how God would want me to live. Yet there are times when I have to live that way, or else I would continue to put things off until a more favorable moment, whatever that is.

Have you ever had experience with a ruthless deadline?  Did it help you get something done?  How aobut when you go away on vacation?  Doesn't the time before you depart prove to be a time of great accomplishment?  Can you replicate a few more of those times, even though you are not going on vacation?  Can you use a ruthless deadline to finish a project when no one is forcing you to do so?

Ephesians 5:16 urges you to "make the most of your time."  Why not experiment with the ruthless deadline concept this week and then see if you cannot incorporate this principle into your life every now and then to help you achieve the projects God has put in your heart to do.  Thanks, and have a blessed week.

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KENYA: Even though I am in Kenya, there is still time to give and the needs are great. I can draw the money out via ATM here, so please exercise a ruthless deadline in your giving for I leave Kenya on February 15.  You can give using my website or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0882.  You can also follow my travel blog while I am here to see that we are putting your contributions to good use.

PURPOSECOACH:  I had such a good response to my revived  PurposeCoach program that I am extending the special price of $99 for the program through February 28.  The program includes some listening, some reading and some connecting time with me and can now be done from anywhere in the world, since everything is digitized and online. You can pay for your PurposeCoach Program via Paypal or by sending a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8881, Pittsburgh, PA 15221-0881. Make the investment in your life today. I am attaching a FAQ sheet concerning PurposeCoach, along with an enrollment application, below.

Do you know when I got most of my applications for PurposeCoach? Right at the deadline of January 31 when the special was to expire. Why is that?  People were facing a ruthless deadline and acted!  Set yourself a ruthless deadline and tell yourself, "I will be enrolled by week's end" and see if it doesn't help you deal with your procrastination. You know you want your purpose; why not act to be part of PurposeCoach today!

Download 1 PCoach FAQs

478: No Such Thing as Time Management

I hope you are one of the 600 people who have accepted my Purpose Challenge to improve your Assessment score on my website 15 points by December 31.  In reviewing the assessment scores, many people give statement 11 a low score, which says, "I am in control of my time."  Some who gave themselves a high score on statment 11 then indicated a low score on number 17, "I approach every work day with a written, prioritized plan." Both 11 and 17 speak to your ability to plan your work and work your plan, a key component of purposeful people.

Time management is one of the toughest disciplines in life, but critical to achieving purpose and goals, so I thought I would devote the next few weeks to that topic.  If you don't need any input on time management, then you can take a few weeks off, but should spend your time reading about how to tell the truth!  Truth is, we all need help where time management is concerned.

A MISNOMER  

Time management is the wrong definition of what you need.  You don't need help managing time, for time cannot be managed.  It goes by at the same pace it always has.  You cannot save it, slow it down, speed it up or recover it once it's gone.  You cannot manage time; you can only manage the events that occur within the time that you have.  Rather than call it time management, we should really think of it as event management.

Let me give you an example.  There is nothing special about 6 AM, until you set your alarm for 6 AM.  The wake up call is the event that takes place at 6 AM.  Then you have to be at work at 7:30, so you must manage a series of events to insure you are there on time.  Those events include showering, breakfast, devotions, getting the children off, and the commute to work.  There is nothing you can do about the 90 minutes to get to work from the time you get out of bed; it will pass as every 90 minute segment of time has always passed.  There are a lot of things you can do, however, to manage the events that occur in those 90 minutes. What you do in them will determine whether or not you are successful, defined by being on time or late for work.

The rest of your life is like that as well. You have 24 hours every day; you just don't know how many 24 hour units you have ahead of you. My mother passed away at 92 years of age; a young child of five who attended my church was killed in a house fire last year.  Your times are truly in His hands, and you have the duty and joy of making the most of every day that you have on earth. You will do that by managing the events therein as best you can.

EVENT MANAGEMENT  

In past Memos, I have told you that you have all the time in the world, and it's true. You have 24 hours for every day you are alive, the same as everyone else.  Then why can some produce so much and others seem to struggle just to get through the day?  It's because the productive person understands the difference between time and event control.

So perhaps you should start by doing a simple time inventory to determine exactly what events are filling the time you have.  It's not so complicated to do and you can read two articles I have about it on my website.  You can get started this week by learning where you are investing or spending your time.  After that, you can see what you need to stop doing so you can embrace new activities and goals that will bring you more joy and fulfillment and more in line with your governing values.  As you work on your inventory in the days ahead, I know you will have a great week!

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KENYA UPDATE:  I am pleased to announce that I brought over to Kenya $3,200 for The Sophia Fund and Operation Chicken Coop. Thank you for your faithful support and response to my call.  There is still time to give, for my wife is coming over later this week and can bring funds with her.  We can always use more money to feed the orphans through The Sophia Fund, and Christmastime here is not different than anywhere. There are always special needs to meet.  You can give through my website or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 8882, Pittsburgh, PA  15221-0882, and we will make sure it gets distributed in time for Christmas.

MPESA:  Many Kenyans have asked how they can contribute to my work here.  i registered for the mobile phone money transfer called MPESA.  Write me at johnstanko@gmail.com and I will forward you the number to use to send your Christmas contribution.

PX2: If you are in Kenya and would like to attend the youth training I am doing this Wednesday through Friday, write and let me know.  The training is called PX2 and is used the world over to train youth in the cognitive learning techniques made famous through The Pacific Institute. This training will not only help you, but allow you to facilitate PX2 to Kenyan youth. There is a cost, but invest in yourself and it will pay dividends many times over.

433: A Miracle Just in Time

Are you in a battle for time?  Do you have more to do than you have time to accomplish?  It's time to resume our study of Joshua, which we began prior to the Christmas holidays.  Joshua trusted the Lord for a significant miracle that involved time, so let's direct our attention there and see what you can learn to help with your battle for time in the days ahead (you can read Memos 427 and 428 on Joshua here).

A PRAYER OF FAITH

As you learn to have faith for money, business and ministry to fulfill your purpose, it’s important that you also learn to have faith for time.  Like you, Joshua had much to do as he fulfilled his purpose to pursue and battle Israel’s enemies. The only way he was going to finish was to have faith for more time.  His faith caused him to pray an unusual prayer:

“On the day the Lord gave the Amorites over to Israel, Joshua said to the Lord in the presence of Israel: ‘O sun, stand still over Gibeon, O moon, over the Valley of Aijalon.’  So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a man. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” (Joshua 10:12-14). 

Joshua asked for the sun and moon to alter their normal courses and God answered his prayer!  Joshua got creative and prayed a prayer of faith.  God answered Joshua’s prayer and gave him enough daylight to finish the job he had before him.

A TIMELY MIRACLE

This is an unusual story, but it embodies an important principle where time is concerned:  God can help you have the time you need to finish what you need to finish.  Armed with that knowledge, can you then believe God for the time you need?  This is critical, because often you put off important things because you don’t believe you have enough time to fit them in or do them well. 

This week, I am determined to have faith for time, to finish all the critical things that are before me.  I’m not going to fret, but I am going to keep my priorities in order.   That means I will pray, read, write and take time to do some schoolwork for my class in February.  Because you believe God can give you time, you can exercise, study or do the other things that you’ve previously said you didn’t have time to do.

When you say, “I don’t have enough time,” you are making a statement of unfaith.  The truth is, you have all the time there is—twenty-four hours a day.  But God is still able to take limited resources and make them adequate, and He can do the same for those twenty-four hours.  So why not believe God for a time miracle this week?  And how will you walk out this miracle?  You will express your faith for time by doing something that is important for you to do, whether you think you have time to do it or not.  I invite you to join me this week as together we follow Joshua's example to have faith for a timely miracle.  Have a great week!

    Feel free to post your comment to this Memo on the site where it is located.

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FACEBOOK GOAL:  As of this writing, I have 1,075 friends on Facebook.  Thank you for helping me exceed my goal. Now on to the next goal: 2,000 by June 30

THE SOPHIA FUND: I leave for Kenya on February 5 with 13 others and I am still collecting money and supplies to take over with us. If you haven't already done so, please take the time to read my latest update on the Sophia Fund and the Deborah Foundation here. As you read, you will understand what a difference you can make in a child's life with very little effort or investment. 

After you read these updates, I hope you will act to help as my trip approaches in four weeks.  I need money and supplies to feed and educate the children in a difficult environment. If you need more background or information, go to my blog to see my latest posts or go to my Facebook page. I will figure out a way to get everything to Kenya.  You just figure out a way to get them to me. 

KENYA: The finest training in goal setting and personal development I have ever received was through an organization called The Pacific Institute.  I am going to do a three-day Pacific Institute seminar while I am in Nairobi from February 8-10 at the Serena Hotel in Nairobi. This training is not inexpensive, but it has paid for itself in my life over and over again.  Be watching for updates in the coming weeks and then be a part of this historic event when I come over in February.  It will change you and your life forever.

Monday Memo 372: Just a Minute

I woke up at 3:39 AM this morning, wide awake and staring at the ceiling. I was thinking of all the things I still needed to get done to catch up from last week.  I don't think I was anxious, but I my mind was definitely going a mile a minute.  Then I remembered a simple principle that I teach where time management is concerned and it helped me greatly.  What is that concept?

It is that I must trust the Lord for time, just like I do for money, health, business and ministry opportunities and for creativity.  Time is no different than anything else.  I got out of bed and dove into my day and, as the day ends, I can say that God rewarded my faith.  I got a lot accomplished.

A HELPFUL VERSE

When I conduct time management seminars in churches, I show the people a verse with which I am sure you are familiar.  It is 2 Peter 3:8, which states: "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends: With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day." 

A few years ago, I began to play with the math in that verse.  I asked myself, if a day is like a thousand years, what would an hour be like.  So I divided it all out and found that an hour would be the equivalent of about 42 years.  Then I wondered what a minute would equate to.  When I divided it all out, I found that a minute would be about nine months.  So one day is like a 1,000 years, one hour like 42 years and one minute the same as nine months according to that verse.  So what is so special about all that?

Well, if the Lord tells you that He will be there to help you in "just a minute," you realize that what He means by a minute and what you mean can be two entirely different concepts.  If you ever had a baby or know someone who did and that women carried the baby nine months, the Lord would say, "Oh, she was pregnant for just a minute!"

JUST A MINUTE

So what does that have to do with the issue of time or event management?  I think it has great relevance.  How often do you put off something you want to do because you think and maybe even say, "I don't have time."  You may think that what you want to do could take as long as nine months, so you don't even start.

Yet 2 Peter 3:8 also states that a thousand years can be like a day.  If we reverse the math, we see that a 1,000 years could be like a day, 42 years like an hour and nine months could be like just a minute. Something you thought would take long to do, if you have faith, could take much less time. 

So I activated my faith this morning and waded into the pile of papers on my desk.  By 8:30 AM, what I thought was two days work was all done!  What's more, I went on to have a great day, with energy enough to take a long walk with my wife before dinner.  Now I am writing this Memo, which as you know is one day late.  (Hey, I got tired last night and went to bed early.)

What have you been putting off for a long time because you are convinced you don't have the time?  Can you also activate your faith this week to take the first step?  Who knows, you may find all kinds of energy and supernatural help that will enable you to take a complicated task and make it simple, completing it in much less time than you expected.  Experiment with having faith for time this week and watch the impossible become possible.  As you do, I know that you will have a great week!

    Feel free to write a comment to this entry on the site where it is posted.

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FAITH FILES EBOOK:  My latest book, The Faith Files, is now available as an ebook that you can download.  What's more, the service allows you to pay in Canadian dollars, US dollars, UK pounds, Australian dollars and, get this, Indian rupees!  Just go to the ebook website, enter your payment information and download the book.  You can then print it or have it on your computer for your devotional pleasure. 

FREE PURPOSEQUEST ASSESSMENT:  Don't forget about the free PurposeQuest assessment available on my website.  This is not a scientific survey, but something that is meant to stimulate your thought and direct your study on my site concerning where you stand in your PurposeQuest.  About 600 people have taken the survey so far.  I hope that every Monday Memo reader will eventually take the assessment and heed the follow up email from me on how you can be even more purposeful than you already are.

FREE DOWNLOAD:  On my site, there is also a free download of a document describing what I call the five gold mine principle of purpose and productivity.  Why not download a copy today and see where you stand in relation to the five principles?

THE PACIFIC INSTITUTE IS COMING TO KENYA, AND SO AM I:  I will be back in Kenya from December 1-8 in Nairobi.  I will be working with a team that is bringing the training of The Pacific Institute (TPI) and its young adult program, PX2 , to Kenya.  You may remember that I have called the TPI training the finest I have ever sat under.  The program is not free, but it is money well invested, whether you enroll in the adult or youth program.  In fact, this week a representative from TPI will be training facilitators for the youth program that will premier December 4-6.  If you would like to be part of this fantastic program, please email me and I will send your info on to the Kenyan representatives, who can give you more info.

This program is already in South Africa, the UK, Australia, Japan and China, to name a few countries, and I am so pleased that it is coming to Kenya.  It is quite simply a wonderful program that teaches you how to think so that you can renew your mind as God commands. 

MEET WITH ME IN DECEMBER: If you would like to meet with me to have a PurposeQuest session while I am in Nairobi in December, you can also send me an email to let me know you are interested.  I have one Sunday free while I am there, so if you would like me to speak in your church on December 7, please let me know.

Monday Memo 371: A Tribute to Mother Stanko

I wrote last week about a time to live and a time to die.  For Mother Stanko, yesterday was her time to die. At 3:40 PM, my mother went to be with the Lord and the most important part is that I was there to help her make her transition.  I watched her take her last breath, told her I loved her as she did and then it was over.  The nurse who came to confirm her death said that she had a look of peace and that many of her "patients" look twisted and tormented when they pass.  Not Mother Stanko.

NO REGRETS

In a blog post a few weeks ago, I said that I had no regrets where my mother was concerned.  Since my dad passed away 12 years ago, I called her almost every day I was in the country, visited her every Sunday, took her to see her family and on special trips and always included her in family celebrations.  My sister and I had a special 90th birthday party for her two years ago when family and friends got together to honor her life. When I returned from a trip overseas, I would first call my wife and then my mother and would say, "God bless America!"  She would always say, "Amen!" and then assure me that she had been praying for me while I was gone.

My mother was the most organized person I ever knew.  She would not only do spring cleaning in her house every year, she would start on the same day every year.  She never, ever forgot a birthday or special occasion and was always so early for appointments that I would always bring plenty of work with me while we waited for her appointment time to arrive.

My mother loved to eat out every now and then, but only in a restaurant that met her standards for cleanliness.  If the glass in the front door of the restaurant had fingerprints, they were disqualified from future consideration. My mother expected public places to be as immaculate as her house was and would not accept any excuse for sloppiness or lack of attention to detail.

GOD ORDERS OUR STEPS

God had to order a lot of steps for me to be present yesterday for her passing.  And that is perhaps the most important element in time management, something we have discussed the last few weeks.  I always count on God's help to see what I can't see and to order what I can't understand.  I try to exercise faith when I manage my time and I feel like yesterday I received a huge gift from the Lord by being present for my mother's passing.  I could not have organized that; only He could and He did.  If I shed any tears, they are tears of joy that I was in the right place at the right time to do the right thing.  When talking about time or event management, it doesn't get any better than that.

God helped me be there and I am learning to trust Him for time -- that if I can't do something, it's because He didn't want me to do this or that thing. I could have been in Africa this week, but all the doors closed for me to be there and I rested in that.  My mother could have died on someone else's "shift."  Instead, God worked it all out so she would go to be with Him on mine.  Thank You, Lord.

So farewell, Mother Stanko.  So much of what I write and speak about, you taught me.  You through me have blessed many people around the world.  I have often quoted your words of wisdom and will continue to reference your life as a guiding light for my decisions and work.  Until we meet again, I wish you joy in God's presence and I promise to carry on the family traditions and values that were so important to you, including always being on time.  Amen!

    Feel free to write a comment to this entry on the site where it is posted. 

Monday Memo 370: A Time to Live, A Time to Die

How did you do this past week with tracking where your time goes?  Mine went well because I didn’t have a lot of time to spare.  I was in Dallas and was busy from morning until night conducting a seminar.  Then I came home to Pittsburgh to speak at a local conference for two days and then spent the last 24 hours with my 92-year-old mother who is fading quickly with colon cancer.  I mentioned last week that we would spend a few weeks talking about time management, so let’s proceed with our plan and see what we can learn together.

A TIME TO DIE

I had the privilege of burying my father twelve years ago.  He actually died in my arms as I was helping him on his bed.  I prayed that I would and could do the same thing for my mother and now the moment is at hand.  So much of my travel didn’t work out this year and my trips to Africa came to a sudden halt.  Now I understand why.  God was answering my prayer and I was home for these last six months to see my mother in her last days. I am home to say goodbye to her. 

In times like this, it is simply a matter of following one’s priorities.  My mother won’t be here much longer, so I choose to spend as many minutes with her as I can.  I spend the night on her couch, waiting for her to ring her bell when she needs me.  I can’t do that every night, but I want to do it as often as possible until the end.  Everything else pales in importance right now and decisions of time and event management are much simpler.  I do what I can with my work, but my mother comes first.

A TIME TO LIVE

When you think about it, time management isn’t any different at any other time of life. When faced with tough event management decisions, you go with what is most important to you, things that are consistent with your values.  I have no regrets where my mother is concerned.  I called her almost every day that I was home and visited her at least every Sunday.  I took her on trips and sometimes took her shopping.  I used my time to do things with her because she was important to me and now I can look back and be glad. 

How about you?  Are you happy where you are investing your time? Are you using your time to do things that bring life and cause you to enjoy the opportunities that God has given you?  While I was sitting here with my mother today (she sleeps most of the time), I caught up on my next to the last study in my series from the gospel of Matthew.  When I finish Matthew next week, I will have completed verse-by-verse studies for twenty books of the New Testament.  I estimate I have spent about 1,000 hours on that Bible project in the last seven years, working on it about 20 minutes a day. 

So the choice is yours.  You can use the time you have to do important things or waste it doing trivial things – or nothing at all.  I had promised this week I would include a summary document with all the past Monday Memos that had time as a theme and it is attached below.  I’ll have more to say next week but for now, let me urge you to do something this week that will make a difference in your own life according to what matters most.  Have a great week!

Download memos_about_time.doc

Monday Memo 369: Timed Out

I took some time to review the results from the 500 or so people who have taken the Purpose Assessment on my new website.  The scores vary widely as you would expect, but there is one trend that seems to be common in many of the assessments.  Many people give statement 11 a low score. What is statement 11?  It says, "I am in control of my time."

Time management is one of the toughest disciplines in life, so I thought I would devote a few weeks to that topic if you don't mind.  If you don't need any input on time management, then you can take a few weeks off, but should rather spend your time reading about how to tell the truth!  Truth is, we all need help where time management is concerned.

A MISNOMER   

Time management is really the wrong term for what we need.  We don't need help to manage time, for time cannot be managed.  It goes by at the pace it always has.  You cannot save it, slow it down, speed it up or recover it once it's gone.  You cannot manage time; you can only manage the events that occur within the time that you have.  Rather than call it time management, we should really call it event management.

Does that make sense to you?

Think of it like this.  There is nothing special about 6 AM, until you set your alarm for 6 AM.  The wake up call is the event that takes place at 6 AM.  Then you have to be at work at 7:30, so you must manage a series of events to insure you are punctual.  Those events include showering, breakfast, devotions, getting the children off, and the commute to work.  There is nothing you can do about the 90 minutes you have to get to work from the time you get out of bed.  There are a lot of things you can do to manage the events that occur in those 90 minutes and what you do will determine whether you are successful or not, defined by being on time or late for work.

The rest of your life is like that as well.  You have 24 hours every day; you just don't know how many 24 hour units you have in total ahead of you.  My mother is 92 years old; a young child of 5 who attended my church was killed in a house fire last week.  Our times are truly in His hands, and we have the duty and joy of making the most of every day that we have on earth.

EVENT MANAGEMENT   

In past Memos, I have told you that you have all the time in the world, and it's true. You have 24 hours for every day you are alive, the same as everyone else.  Then why can some produce so much and others seem to struggle just to get through the day?  It's because the productive person understands the difference between time and event control.

So perhaps you should start by doing a simple time inventory to determine exactly what events are filling the time that you have.  It's not so complicated to do and you can read an article I have about it on my website by the title Know Your Time.  Next week, I will have a compilation of all my past Memos on time for you to review.  In the meantime, you can get started this week by learning where you are investing your time.  After that, we can see what you need to stop doing so you can embrace new activities and goals that will bring you more joy and fulfillment.  As you do your inventory, I know you will have a great week!

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MEMO INDEX: Did you know that my website has an index of every Monday Memo, complete with the title, topic and all the Bible verses quoted therein?  If you are looking for something specific, you can easily check the index and find out what I have written about purpose, faith, productivity and many other topics. 

HALLOWEEN: I wrote an article years ago concerning Halloween that has been published in magazines and newspapers around the world.  I have updated that article and can send it to you for any contribution to my ministry between now and October 30.  This article is perfect for newsletters, church bulletins and other publications.  You can contribute on my website using PayPal or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA  15221.  I will send you a Word and PDF file of the article for you to use in whatever way you choose. 

ASSESSMENT: Have you taken the purpose assessment on my updated website?   Five hundred people have done so since my new site went up and I hope you are among that group.   If you haven't done so yet, why not do so now and then follow up with some of the online resources that can improve your score? 

SEVEN STEPS: I am offering another special on my Seven Steps coaching program.  If you want to progress in the area of purpose, then I strongly suggest you invest in yourself.  The cost of the program is $699, but I will discount it to $499 through October 20.  You can make payment on my website using PayPal or send a check to PurposeQuest, PO Box 91099, Pittsburgh, PA  15221.  Credit cards are also accepted. You can read about the Seven Steps program here.