Tag: Ephesians 5:15-17

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Seizing the Day

Last Saturday was a beautiful day here in South Dakota.

Gary suggested that we go kayaking on the Missouri River.

Now, it would have been easy to push that idea aside and just do our normal Saturday stuff. It takes some work to get the kayaks ready and gather the paddles and life jackets. It takes time to drive to the river. But we decided to go for it.

After we decided to kayak, we ran into another obstacle. The Missouri River was so low that our normal spot to get in was impossible. There wasn’t enough water to float in the little bay leading to the big river. We drove around and checked out other spots, walking from parking lots and figuring we’d get stuck in the mud if we attempted to get in the river there.

We finally parked by the little wayside chapel right by the Platte-Winner bridge and carried the kayaks down a hill. My flip-flops seemed like a poor choice on the steepest part of the route to the water. But we made it.

During the summer, I had begged Gary to let me kayak under the bridge to the other side of the river, but he had (wisely) refused to allow it. The wind, waves, and lots of boats on the water would have made it pretty tough to paddle the mile across the Missouri.

But last Saturday was perfect. No wind, no waves, and no boats. We got in, shoved off, and peacefully paddled under the huge cement supports of the bridge.

It was just as cool as I’d imagined it would be when I begged to do it this summer. So peaceful and so neat to go under the bridge and hear the cars passing by overhead.

We made it to the other side without any problems.

We turned around to go back and decided to go south of the bridge so the trucks could see us as they crossed. It was rewarding to hear a couple of them honk when they saw us.

It was so much fun to cross the mile-wide Missouri River on November 28.

We could have missed it if Gary hadn’t recognized how perfect the day was for making my wish come true.

We could have missed it if we had decided it wasn’t worth the effort and stayed home.

We could have missed it if we had given up trying to find a good place to get in the water.

I’m glad we seized the day and pushed through the obstacles so we could enjoy our little adventure.

I wonder how many things we miss out on because we don’t always seize the day. Let’s keep our eyes, minds, and hearts open to all of the opportunities around us. Just think of all the adventures we’ll have if we do that!

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is.” (Ephesians 5:15–17 NIV)

Do you make sure to seize the day, or do you miss out because you get stuck in your normal patterns of life? How can focusing on God help you to make the most of every opportunity that comes up?

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Focus Friday: Let’s Focus on Wasting Bacon

I had a little “oops” with some bacon this week. Five strips wouldn’t fit on the main sheet pan I was using, so I put them on another pan and set them on the rack below the other pan and set the timer for 20 minutes.

I got busy with something else, and when I went to take it out, I could see smoke coming out of the vent. I knew I was in trouble. Sure enough, the charred remains greeted me when I opened the oven door.

Luckily, the other pan looked nicely done and it tasted delicious.

But I sure hated wasting that precious bacon.

Bacon’s not cheap, you know. Someone had given us some nice tomatoes, and we already had part of a head of lettuce, so we just had to splurge so we could make BLTs.

A little more thought could have prevented my bacon disaster. Of course, putting them closer to the heat source in the oven would get them done faster. I should have thought of that. I could have moved the rack higher, or watched the bacon to make sure it didn’t burn.

This was just a cooking mistake. No big deal, right? At least the rest of the bacon survived.

I’m afraid there may be other areas of my life where I’m not careful and I “waste the bacon,” so to speak.

Time is precious, but I sometimes squander it with thoughtless activities that don’t do me or anyone else any good.

Words are precious, but I sometimes burn someone with a thoughtless comment (usually my poor husband).

Money is precious, but I sometimes spend it on frivolous things I don’t need (not too often, but when I do I have that feeling of regret, like seeing that burned bacon coming out of the oven).

Thoughts are precious, but I sometimes allow my mind to wander and fixate on negative things that lead to all sorts of bad feelings (and sometimes, actions).

Just a little wisdom and care will help us not to “waste the bacon.”

We can plan our days so we aren’t wasting precious time.

We can pray and think before we speak so we don’t burn anyone with our precious words.

We can stop and consider our purchases so we don’t waste our precious money.

We can take our thoughts captive and make sure they’re good for us so we use our precious thoughts well.

And we can keep an eye on whatever is in the oven so we don’t waste our precious bacon.

“Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. ” (Ephesians 5:15-17 NIV)

Have you ever wasted bacon (or anything else) because you weren’t careful? How can focusing on God help you to have those times of waste happen less frequently?