Rick Warren's Blog, page 574

Do Less, and Trust God More

The last step to building more margin in your life is to do less and trust God more.

Why should you do that? Because God can do more in 20 minutes than you can do in 20 years.

You Can Accomplish More By Doing Less

If you want margin in your life, you must periodically prune your activities.

One of the things I do to relax is grow roses. I���ve learned that if I want to have any roses in the new season, I have to prune them back, usually around the third week of January. One year when I got ready to prune, there were still lots of branches with buds waiting to blossom. Do you know how difficult it is to cut off a rose that hasn���t bloomed yet? It kills me to do that.

Margin Helps You Plan for Problems

We need margin in our lives, because it���s inevitable that we���re going to have problems in life.

Plans are good. The Bible says we ought to plan, and planning helps lead you in the right direction. But nothing ever goes as perfectly as planned, so you���re setting yourself up for big disappointment when you don���t prepare for bumps in the road.

If You���re Overloaded, You Need to Learn Your Limits

If you want to build margin in your life so that you can do the work God meant for you to do, you have to remember that you are only human. You are not a god. You are not invincible. You are just a human being. You have limits!

You May Be in a Hurry, but God Is Not

If you want to slow down your life, you���ve got to learn to trust God���s timing.

Learn to Pause and Pray Before Adding to Your Schedule

When you learn to pause and pray before making a decision, you are helping to slow your life down to a more manageable level.

Proverbs 20:25 says, ���It is a trap to dedicate something rashly and only later to consider one���s vows��� (NIV).

What Does a Sabbath Look Like?

The Bible is filled with instructions about living the kind of healthy life God made us to live.

Slow Down By Learning Contentment

If you���re serious about slowing down, you don���t start with your schedule. You start with your heart.

Invest Your Money in Getting People to Heaven

The last thing you need to do to get ready to be used by God is use your treasure in light of eternity.

Make Your Talent and Skills Matter

When you���re getting ready to be used by God, he doesn���t just want to see that you���re spending your time on the most important things. He also wants you to use your talents in view of eternity.