Sitting in church yesterday I heard an interesting statistic...the average man in his mid-thirties has 500 days left... 500 days to himself, 500 days to do what he wants to do. These 500 days do not include sleeping, eating, driving, working, cleaning, etc... These days are 24 hours of pure choice free time. This concept got me thinking. What do I spend my free time doing?
I am 30. Ok, almost 31. If I am honest about my free time I am pretty self absorbed. Like most Americans, I spend my free time consumed with recreation. For me, that means reading, watching movies or reruns of old tv shows on Netflix, shopping, eating out, on facebook, looking in the mirror thinking of ways to improve my appearance, etc. I am pretty self absorbed and my free time proves it. When I consider the reality of my desires and try to align them with God's word, I come up short. After listening yesterday I learned that according to Ephesians 5:15-16 we are "to walk circumspectly" (looking around) and we are responsible for "redeeming the time" given to us by God.
I am beginning this blog in an effort to redeem the time in my life. For the next year, I plan to spend more time with my girls, my husband, my self. I plan to spend less time with the tv, the mall, my cell phone, and facebook. I plan to play more board games with friends, go on more walks with my family, write more letters to my grandparents, laugh more often with everyone. I also pledge to clean less, primp less, plan less...enjoy more. This blog is for me. A record of the memories I will create this year. A time capsule to remind me to stop and smell the roses, the cookies, and the sunsets...What do sunsets smell like anyway? Not sure, but I plan to spend the rest of the year figuring it out.