My son, pay"); document.writeln("attention to what I say, turn your ear to my words. Do not let them out of your"); document.writeln("sight, keep them within your heart.1
"); document.writeln("Writer Charles"); document.writeln("Swindoll once found himself with too many commitments in too few days. He got"); document.writeln("nervous and tense about it. \'I was snapping at my wife and our children,"); document.writeln("choking down my food at mealtimes, and feeling irritated at those unexpected"); document.writeln("interruptions throughout the day,\' he recalled in his book Stress Fractures. \'Before"); document.writeln("long, things around our home started reflecting the patter of my hurry up"); document.writeln("style. It was becoming unbearable. I distinctly remember after supper one"); document.writeln("evening, the words of our younger daughter, Colleen. She wanted to tell me"); document.writeln("something important that had happened to her at school that day. She began"); document.writeln("hurriedly, \'Daddy, I wanna tell you something and I\'ll tell you really fast.\' Suddenly"); document.writeln("realizing her frustration, I answered, Honey, you can tell me, and you don\'t"); document.writeln("have to tell me really fast. Say it slowly. I\'ll never forget her answer: \'Then"); document.writeln("listen slowly.\'\'2
"); document.writeln("How many times"); document.writeln("do we find ourselves overwhelmed by all of the different commitments we have on"); document.writeln("a daily basis? Far too often, we allow the busyness of life to consume our"); document.writeln("time, energy, and attention making us lose sight of people or things that are"); document.writeln("truly important. This includes the most important thing\'¦ spending time with our"); document.writeln("Heavenly Father.
"); document.writeln("God longs for a"); document.writeln("close relationship with His children. He enjoys the time we spend talking to"); document.writeln("Him through prayer and listening to Him through Scripture. But if we are"); document.writeln("focused on the busyness, we will easily miss what He is telling us. He speaks"); document.writeln("to us constantly, not only through His Word, but through His Holy Spirit which"); document.writeln("is always with us.
"); document.writeln("The next time"); document.writeln("you find yourself rushing from here to there, working on deadlines, or just"); document.writeln("doing what needs to be done, stop and take a moment to listen slowly.
"); document.writeln("Suggested"); document.writeln("prayer: Dear God, please help me make time for what is truly important, especially"); document.writeln("my time with you. I want to cherish the moments you have given me with the people"); document.writeln("I share life with. Keep me from falling in the trap of busyness and miss out on"); document.writeln("all the blessings you have for me. In the name of Jesus I pray, Amen.
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1. Proverbs"); document.writeln("4:20-21 (NIV).
"); document.writeln("2. Bits &"); document.writeln("Pieces, June 24, 1993, pp. 13-14.
"); document.writeln("Today\'s"); document.writeln("Encounter was written by: Crystal B.
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This and other devotionals by Richard (Dick) Innes can be read online.
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