Celebrate:GIRL - Week 3 (for me, anyway)

Hey bloggy-sisters!

Well, here I am - hanging out in my cool new bloggy-bedroom, with my new design from Angie! (if you haven't already, check out her site here) So, what better way to christen my new room than with a good old heart-to-heart chat just between us sisters about something that matters a whole lot in our world - time.

These days, there are lots of things vying to take control of how we use our time. There are TV shows screaming 'watch me!', and magazines that draw you into their pages with clever use of colours and titles on its cover. The internet is a big one which I find draws me in - just keep on clicking, and clicking, and clicking... and suddenly a whole hour or two has passed, and nothing much has really been done. What about sports? I know that exercising and keeping healthy is a good thing, but when you take a five minute break from studying to go shoot some hoops or run just one lap around your yard, it suddenly turns into an all out competition between you and the girl next door, and half an hour later you are still playing and don't want to go inside and hit your books. Sound familiar? I know that this pretty much describes my life sometimes...

So, how do we take back control of our time? Here are 3 tips to help you to be in charge of how you use the time that God has given you -
1. Start and end your day in prayer and praise. Sounds easy? I have found that it can be hard to remember to talk to God and spend time with Him when I am running around trying to do things in my own strength. As of today, I am going to try harder to place God in His righful place as King of my life by making Him the first and last thing I think about each day.
2. Set goals, and use rewards. This one is fun! At the beginning of each week, set yourself goals for what you want to acomplish - eg. This week I am going to nail that piano piece, finish this maths unit, read this book for English, learn how to do a proper jete for ballet class, etc. You get the idea? Start smaller - if God can trust you with the little things in your life He can trust you with larger things as you grow with Him. And don't make it all 'oh I have to do this', have fun with it! Reward yourself by doing something you love - such as chatting to a Christian sister on the phone. Or read another chapter of a new book. Or bake some cookies. Or maybe your mum/mom would reward you for passing an exam with a back massage! Be creative and come up with fun things that will push you towards better time management.
3. Don't do it alone. When we humans try to succeed in our own power and thoughs and strength, it more than often ends in failure. The solution? Call a friend! For us, we can call on God and He will answer and bring help, but we can also call on a Christian sister, friend, mum/mom or grandma to help keep us accountable and doing the right thing, managing our time properly.

How does that sound? Girls, I want you to know that this is soemthing that I really struggle with, and so I understand how you feel. I'll be praying for you to be strengthened so that you can rise up and take control over the things you have been given. Please, if you have something specific you would like me to pray about for you, leave a comment.

God bless you girls!
xoxoxoxo