Marsha's Musings: Getting Things Done!

 "Good morning!"~My alarm on my phone sings this every morning when the alarm goes off.  Kind of a cheery wake up song!

I've been reading David Allen's "Getting Things Done" a.k.a. GTD.  I'm really enjoying it.  I have an app on my iPod that is a To Do List and I found I was getting really overwhelmed to the point of not even looking at it anymore.  Seems like no matter what method I choose to organize myself, I end up abandoning it after a while because it gets so messy and overwhelming.

So far I like what I see in the GTD method, so I have deleted all the folders in my iPod To Do List and replaced them with GTD folders.  This is helping me to organize my "stuff" so that I can see what I need to do now as opposed to what can wait and be reviewed later.  I'm hoping this will help remove some of the stress I feel each day as I look at my never ending list.

One thing he said that was a new revelation to me is that putting a project on your to do list is going to cause stress because you can't "do" a project.  A project needs to be broken down into action steps and the action steps added to the to do list in small doable increments.

The problem with adding a project (for example: "Work on Landscaping") is that you don't know what to do.  Nothing is defined and so you stress out over it.  But if you spend a little time thinking about it and breaking it down into action steps, then you put on your "Next Actions" list something like this: "Run a string to mark off where you want the grass border to be"  and  "Dig out grass along border and around rose bushes".  You end up with defined tasks that tell you what action to take.

My Quiet Time:

" And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister; "(Colossians 1:21-23 KJV)

1. Christ has reconciled me to Him when I was alienated and an enemy of Him.  He did the work of reconciliation!

2. Why?  That He might present me holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.

3. The "IF" in this passage is to be assumed to be true.  It is assumed that I will continue in the faith.  Why?  Because elsewhere in Scripture Jesus says, " All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. And this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." (John 6:37-40 KJV)

Christ is the one who does the work of reconciliation, making me holy, unblameable and unreproveable in His sight and keeping me in the faith.  Yes, there are times when I slip up but He always brings me back. 

He will lose none that are His.  If He is not bringing a person back Himself that has "back-slidden", then we wonder if that person really was one of His to begin with or if they only made a profession of faith out of the emotion of the moment.  He will lose nothing that the Father has given Him.