Think time

Have you ever just sat down and spent some time thinking? I don't mean daydreaming, I don't think we need any help going there, or at least I don't, but I mean really thinking. Thinking about how we can add value to our workplace, how to be more effective in what we do, how to shore up our weaknesses, how to highlight our strengths, how to reach out in different and creative ways, etc.

This past Sunday we had a staff meeting and my boss challenged us to stop and think about how we can be more effective at what we do. He was saying that every good book/event/method, etc. came to fruition through the process of someone simply thinking about how to do something. And it got me thinking (go figure...) that I never really do that. Or if I do, it's how to plan something that has already been scheduled. I never take time to think and dream about "what could be." And this is not to say that all ideas are great, because they're not. About 1 idea in 6 is a good one, so to really take time, set it aside and use it purely for thinking about what could be, what new ways we could approach things, how to solidify the old ways of doing things, how to add value to my workplace, to my co-worker's lives, to the lives of my friends and family, etc.

I was thinking it would be a good idea to stay grounded in God's Word of course as I do this, and then it came to me the perfect verse to memorize for this week --> Ephesians 3:20-21 which says,

"Now to Him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to His power that is at work within us, to Him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen."

Seeing as how God is SUPER creative (just take a look outside or even at all the different kinds of people for proof) and He also says that if we want wisdom He will freely give it to us (James 1:5-6), then it's probably a good idea to ask Him for ideas because He's a lot more invested in people's lives than I am. I also love that verse because I think so often I subconsciously limit God in what I think He can or cannot do. It proves a good reminder that God is limitless and can do *more* than I ask or even IMAGINE!!! And I can imagine a lot, but I always cut my ideas off at the knees because I think, "nah, would never work" but how do I know?? I am simply projecting my own standards for how things could get done, and if the world worked that way then we'd all be in some serious trouble.

So I am going to plan some "thinking time" in my weekly schedule and see what ideas come up. As my boss says, it's going to be a lot harder when I first start doing this because we don't use our brains nearly enough, and it's like any other muscle that doesn't get a lot of use. The first time we use it it'll probably be sore for a while (I recently took a muscle conditioning class at USC last Wednesday and I'm still sore...) but the more we use it the more supple it'll become. Do you ever stop and think about things? The way they are and the way they could be? I challenge you to take some time every week, doesn't have to be an hour, just 10 min, to think about how you can add value to the people and jobs around you. I'll let you know how my own progress goes :)

Hope you're having a great Tuesday!!


and here's the funny of the day: