Wednesday, February 29, 2012

Time Management


I'm learning more and more about the value of good time management.  I have kept a schedule for years, but recently it has been quite full.  As a schedule gets full, it becomes more and more necessary to schedule in margin times.

Margin times are blocks of time on the schedule that are purposely kept free.  Why is this important?  There are several reasons.  First of all, life is seldom tidy.  This is even more so the case when one lives in a second culture.  Things happen, or need to happen that we don’t expect.  Without free space in a schedule there is no buffer for these inevitable life events.

Second, I find I need margin because of the reality of ministry.  I'm here to work in the lives of people.  If I'm too busy to spend time with people then I might as well not be here.  I plan out my schedule because without a schedule I am at the mercy of serendipity and happenstance.  I would be leading a life of unintentionally.  It would be like eating by taking a handful of crumbs, tossing them up in the air, and letting whatever lands in your mouth be your lunch.  That being said, if I do not allow for margin then I will have to turn down opportunities to be with people in need.  Needs rarely fit into a schedule.

There are, of course, several other reasons to keep margin.  Our bodies and minds need breaks, and sometimes an activity takes longer then we expect.  The value of margin is self-evident to the busy man.

Currently, I am finding every week that my margin time is shrinking.  There is just too much work to be done here, and Sasha and I need teammates.  Please pray that the Lord would call people to join us here in Bulgaria.  We can't do this alone.

Thursday, February 23, 2012

Bible Study

Tonight we start a Bible study at our house.  It was actually the idea of the secretary at one of the English schools where Dave works.  It is a small group, but it is going to be fun.  We are planing on starting a 10 week Bible walk through course so that everyone can be sure to have a basic knowledge of the Bible before we go deeper.

Monday, February 13, 2012

More Snow

The extreme winter weather in Bulgaria this year has made life significantly more difficult.  Roads are hopelessly blocked with snow and ice in some regions, and in other regions serious flooding is a major problem. We live in the capital city and most roads are still very difficult to navigate.

This morning we were on the way to drop Sophie off at school and we turned around after about a half kilometer of driving as we realized that there was no safe way to get here there.  I'm trying to use the car as little as possible.  It is a very nice car, but it is not made for driving through six inches of snow on a regular basis.  It is rear wheal drive and rides low to the ground.  It has gotten stuck several times already this winter.  Had we attempted to complete our drive to school this morning we would certainly have ended up stuck again.

Pray for thawing in the frozen parts of the country and drying in the flooded parts.  It's pretty bad right now.

Friday, February 10, 2012

Women's Retreat

Sasha is out of town for the weekend on a women's retreat.  This leaves me home alone with the girls and the hamster and the snow.  It looks to be a pretty ordinary weekend with the exception of a birthday party that Sophie is going to for one of her classmates tonight.

Two whole days.  How will I make it without my beautiful lady?

Monday, February 6, 2012

Snowed In

We canceled activities today.  There has been a lot of snow, and the roads are not at all clear.  I have a nice car, but it is rear wheal drive and not able (even with my Minnesota driving skills) to navigate many roads in Sofia.

We are praying for a melting soon.