time and purpose

Time.  It's the essence of life.  Sometimes it seems as if every second lasts hours and other times hours pass like minutes.  And in the end we all ask, "where did the time go?"  How I've spent my time for a number of years now... this hole in my couch with fictional characters and weight gain... it is what/who I spend my time with that comforts me and gives me rest at the end of a long day- long life.
And if I continue to give my time away to this-- this idol-- I will miss my entire purpose of where God is leading me.  This blessing of ministry that He is giving me-- the responsibility -- I'll lose it before I fully have it.   The Lord spoke this to my heart yesterday.   A friend shared with me what He showed her in prayer the day before: Like Adam & Eve in the Garden of Eden; God told them they could have anything in the garden they wanted, but not to eat of this 1 particular tree.  God is telling us to look around at all the blessings He is giving us and for some reason we can't keep our eyes off of what He's told us no to.  Why is that?  But here's my paradigm shift: If my eyes stay on the thing that God is saying no to, I will miss so many wonderful things He is trying to bless me with.

There is this weird short lived jolt to changing how I spend a great deal of my day.  This jolt it's like getting out of a warm shower or bath and stepping out into a cool air-conditioned room.  That cool home mid summer is a wonderful blessing, but in that moment we have this urge to just sink back into the warm water.  But in the analogy of spending my time in a way that is going to rob me of a life of God-blessings that warm bath water is like a stagnant pond... the longer I stay the more I'll smell of death.

But Jesus Gives Life.
"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly".
John 10:9-11

Also, God wants to be the ONE-- the only one-- to give us rest!!
"Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" Matthew 11:28.

How are you spending your time? Is it full-filling your purpose or robbing you of it?