I promise we did not forget about the book club. Week one did not bring the response we had hoped for! We spent last week thinking about why and what we could do differently. A sweet friend of Hollie emailed us and gave a suggestion that we agreed is RIGHT ON. I had been thinking it myself and her email was exactly the confirmation needed.
The change for week two and beyond is that I am not going to post the entire list of questions. I think for some with limited time (all of us!) that the list may have been overwhelming. It was created for face to face discussions and I know it would work great if we could all meet in person for this study. Instead, I'm simply going to post the link to the questions. Our hope is that this shorter format will bring more discussion on how to become better "shoppers of time."
Speaking of Shopping for Time...here is Week Two (Ch. 2 and 3)!
Click Here for the Discussion Questions (PDF file)
Chapter 2 - The First Tip: Rise Early (Joining the 5am Club)
Excerpt from their blog post about the 5am Club:
The 5:00 club is a Mahaney-family club. Mom is the founder, chairman of the board, and the secretary. Without her, there is no club. This club has very few members (only six); no chapters to speak of. It is extremely unpopular from about 5-6 each morning and very popular every hour after that.
This chapter is the discussion of the idea of rising early. They stress how it doesn't have to be exactly 5am for every woman. (For me, it's 6am.) The idea is that you are making time to spend with the Lord (tip 2, chapter 3 coming up!) before the hurried day begins. You are also serving your family in that you are one step ahead of the chaos of the morning. The chapter also gives tips such as having a friend call you for accountability each morning or preparing yourself to feel miserable for the first few minutes.
Question: What is your wake up time and has reading this chapter given you a new desire to wake up even earlier? If so, gives us some good tips!
Chapter 3 - The Second Tip: Sit Still (Sitting at Jesus' Feet)
The first tip, rising early, is sometimes the only way to allow us to accomplish the second tip. The authors stress how this is THE MOST IMPORTANT tip of all in order for us to become effective shoppers of time. Spending intentional time with Jesus each day is essential. The chapter gives some good tips on how to make the most of your time with the Lord each day, even if it doesn't happen at 5am. The chapter included a story from Emma about how she struggled to find time with the Lord once her son was born. She relied on her own strength to make it through the day. She said that she found herself only reaching for her Bible when it was convenient for her.
Question: How many of you can relate to Emma?? What have you done to find time to spend completely focused on the Lord and in His Word?
4 comments:
Ok - I'm going to share my responses the questions in an effort to encourage others! (I'm determined that this book club is not a total bust...) :)
My wake up time is currently 6:15 according to my alarm clock. I usually get up earlier to nurse the baby (who goes back down) and I stay up then. This gives me about 45 min to get ready for the day, make the bed, spend time with the Lord, etc. before my kids get up. Sometimes I'm blessed with even longer (like today) when they sleep in!!
The thing that has held me accountable to an early(ish) wake up time is having a little girl that I'm keeping come over at 6:45. I have to be up for them and I have to be ready. So I MUST get up early.
Getting up early is definately the key to making time for the Lord. Otherwise, it happens during the first nap time (9a) but that just isn't the same!!
Hey Ladies!
I must confess - I have been a POH "stalker" for over a year now.... but I am coming out of hiding :). The Lord has used this blog to encourage me in so many ways and to prepare me for motherhood. Thank you!
I have really enjoyed reading the book! Personally, I can relate to "Julie" in chapter two. I have a precious seven month old son. It has been hard for me to spend quality time with the Lord until now.(He is now consistently sleeping through the night) I felt that I needed to rise early to meet with Christ but I never knew when my son was going to wake up. So I told myself that I would spend time with the Lord when he goes down for a nap. But at nap time I found myself doing all the things that needed to be done - laundry, dishes, shower, emails, etc..
The book has given me extra encouragement to wake up early before the days demands and to meet with my Savior. He is the ONE my soul longs for!
Yay! I'm glad the book club is BACK! Honestly, I have to say that chapter 2 - Rising Early was one of the most beneficial chapters of the book for me.
I've known for a long time that I really need to get up earlier to start my day right. And this chapter was an encouragement... knowing that thousands of women out there are getting up too!
I currently get up at 6:30, but my goal is to join the 5 o'clock club... but I really need someone to help drag me up out of my sleep!
I have been so convicted by this chapter. I have an 8 month old that has a very irregular schedule so it's been so hard to set a wake up time because life is so different day to day.
My goal is to spend time with the Lord in his Word before the kids wake up, but it doesn't always pan out that way. I do know, though, that if it's not then, then it just doesn't happen.
I can't wait till I can get a little better schedule!
(Oh, don't fret about not too many people commenting on the book. There are many that are benefiting, but just don't comment. It's discouraging, I'm sure, but the Lord is definitely rewarding the hard work of all you girls! Keep it up!)
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