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...of Good Stewardship of All God's Blessings
CTC Readers' Poll:
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"I
buy my ground beef in the large family size packs and brown all of
it the day I get it from the store. I then store it flattened in
sandwich size plastic bags stacked in the freezer. When I need a
pack for dinner, I break the pack into a few pieces, warm it with
any needed seasonings in a glass bowl in the microwave and I'm all
set for tacos, lasagna, shepherds pie, spaghetti, etc. I find that I
cook more often when I don't have to remember to thaw meat ahead of
time and I save the time and cleanup of browning the meat each time
I need it." ~ Ann
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"A lot of us work at day jobs
with working hours of 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Monday- Friday.
During the day, companies usually will allow a 15-minute break in
the morning, a 15-minute break in the afternoon, and an hour for
lunch. I use this 'extra' 90 minutes every day to get things
done that I would not otherwise have time for in the evenings or
on the weekends. It helps to relieve the stress of knowing there
are going to be all sorts of little jobs waiting for me when I get
home. It always amazes me when I see people at work wasting these
break and lunch times just sitting around chit-chatting and
talking about nothing important. God tells us in his Word that we
are supposed to 'redeem
the time' and not waste it. Therefore, I feel it is my
personal responsibility to do exactly that and really accomplish
something if I can. My husband and I support three children
overseas through a large Christian organization and it is
important to write letters to these children on a regular basis.
But if I wait until I have an entire evening free to write a
2-page letter to each of them, I find that weeks and weeks go by
and I haven't written to them yet. Therefore, I decided to take
all of my letter-writing supplies to work with me and every day I
would write maybe a paragraph or two during my morning 15-minute
break and another paragraph or two during the afternoon 15-minute
break. During lunch, I started a walking program and walk twice
around the large employee parking lot where I work and am seeing
positive results from this. I want your readers to be encouraged
that we can take advantage of these little bits of time during
each day to do something worthwhile, instead of throwing away this
God-given opportunity. Maybe some of your readers feel the
adult version of 'peer pressure' because other
co-workers expect you
to spend your break times with
them just sitting and talking. Here's where you need to begin to
set some boundaries for yourself. I found that if I explain
to my co-workers that I really have to get something important
done, they always find someone else to spend their break times
with. This relieves me of a guilty feeling that I might hurt
someone's feelings. You could alternate days, also, and tell your
co-worker that you can spend break times with her on Tuesdays and
Thursdays, but on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, you need that
time for paperwork you have to do. This system has worked great
for me because I have 'trained' my co-workers when I can
spend time with them and when I will be unavailable." ~
Dorothy
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| "I wanted to pass along a website that I have used in our home which has definitely helped us in the area of saving time. It is www.flylady.net It helps to save you time and so much more than that." ~ Carol |
| "I keep a bag in the car with little projects to work on while I am waiting in the doctor's office, or dentist's office or on a long trip. It can be cross-stitching, hemming, mending, or writing letters. I keep stationery, stamps, and return address labels in the bag. I can always jot a note to someone. Also, I have a small Bible handy so I can read a few verses, and magazines that I never find time to read at home." ~ Elsie |
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"I knit both children's and
adults' hats while I am watching TV. It is surprising how much
you can get accomplished." ~ Carole in Canada
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"Another way to make good use of your time is to carry a "project" with you when you anticipate having time on your hands. I carry stationery & stamped envelopes in my car -- if I am stuck in a traffic jam, or waiting in a doctor's office, for example, I can use the down time to stay in touch. Or you could use this time to pay bills, knit, cross-stitch ... you get the idea!" ~ Becki in Indiana |
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Editor's Note: Thanks to everyone who took the time to respond. |