From one pastor to another…

‘margin’ : an amount of something included so as to be sure of success.

This is something my wife and I have been holding each other accountable for recently.  We say, “Are you planning for margin today?” or “Did you practice margin in the office?”  Here’s what I call God-margin.  It’s the intentional, scheduled interruption of the abyss of monotony.  All of us struggle with monotony…every day.  We become so ‘task-oriented’ that we don’t make time to be ‘Spirit-oriented.’

O God, we meditate on your unfailing love as we worship in your Temple.     Psalm 48:9 (NLT)

This is not only for when we are in Church.  Our bodies are temples as well (1 Cor. 6:19).  We need to meditate, or deeply focus our thoughts, on the things of Jesus throughout our day.  I work in a church office, and its even difficult there.  One practice I’ve been making a habit of is simply setting two alarms on my phone before I leave home.  I evaluate my schedule for the day so I don’t interrupt an appointment.  Usually, the first alarm is set for 10 or 11am…the other around 2 or 3pm.  Next, I pull up the ‘verse of the day’ on my Bible App…read it…and leave my office.  Just 3-5 minutes to physically change my environment by walking to the other end of the building for a drink of water, allowing the words of that verse to permeate my thoughts, is all it takes to keep me focused.

Where is monotony in your day, and how can you insert ‘margin’ to interrupt it?  Comment below.