I need ideas for devotions on using time wisely, based on Ecclesiastes, "there is a time ..." I'm new and I need it for our pastor's wife retreat coming up. Any help would be appreciated

I posted this a while back and it might work. It's kinda long but the message is really good. To me it has a "time" message that great things take time.

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I copied this inspiring message from an email I received from a dear friend. The only thing I know about the author is her name...Charlotte. I know she wouldn't mind sharing this with other women who feel invisible but please give her credit for writing this message.

TO ALL THE WONDERFUL MOTHERS



I'm invisible.

It all began to make sense, the blank stares, the lack of response, the
way one of the kids would walk into the room while I'm on the phone and
ask to be taken to the store. Inside I'm thinking, "Can't you see I'm on
the phone?" Obviously not. No one can see if I'm on the phone, or
cooking, or sweeping the floor, or even standing on my head in the
corner, because no one can see me at all. I'm invisible.

Some days I am only a pair of hands, nothing more: Can you fix this? Can you tie this? Can you open this? Some days I'm not a pair of hands; I'm not even a human being. I'm a clock to ask, "What time is it?" I'm a satellite guide to answer, "What number is the Disney Channel?" I'm a car to order, "Right around 5:30, please."



I was certain that these were the hands that once held books and the eyes that studied history and the mind that graduated summa *** laude -
but now they had disappeared into the peanut butter, never to be seen
again. She's going, she's going, she's gone!



One night, a group of us were having dinner, celebrating the return of a friend from England. Janice had just gotten back from a fabulous trip,
and she was going on and on about the hotel she stayed in. I was sitting there, looking around at the others all put together so well. It was
hard not to compare and feel sorry for myself as I looked down at my out-of-style dress; it was the only thing I could find that was clean.
My unwashed hair was pulled up in a banana clip and I was afraid I could actually smell peanut butter in it. I was feeling pretty pathetic,when
Janice turned to me with a beautifully wrapped package, and said, "I brought you this."

It was a book on the great cathedrals of Europe . I wasn't exactly sure
why she'd given it to me until I read her inscription: "To Charlotte,
with admiration for the greatness of what you are building when no one
sees."



In the days ahead I would read - no, devour - the book. And I would
discover what would become for me, four life-changing truths, after
which I could pattern my work: No one can say who built the great
cathedrals - we have no record of their names.



These builders gave their whole lives for a work they would never see
finished. They made great sacrifices and expected no credit. The
passion
of their building was fueled by their faith that the eyes of God saw
everything. A legendary story in the book told of a rich man who came
to visit the cathedral while it was being built, and he saw a workman
carving a tiny bird on the inside of a beam. He was puzzled and asked
the man, "Why are you spending so much time carving that bird into a
beam that will be covered by the roof? No one will ever see it."

And the workman replied, "Because God sees." I closed the book,
feeling
the missing piece fall into place. It was almost as if I heard God
whispering to me, "I see you, Charlotte. I see the sacrifices you make
every day, even when no one around you does. No act of kindness you've
done, no sequin you've sewn on, no cupcake you've baked, is too small
for me to notice and smile over. You are building a great cathedral,
but
you can't see right now what it will become."

At times, my invisibility feels like an affliction. But it is not a
disease that is erasing my life. It is the cure for the disease of my
own self-centeredness. It is the antidote to my strong, stubborn
pride.

I keep the right perspective when I see myself as a great builder. As
one of the people who show up at a job that they will never see
finished, to work on something that their name will never be on. The
writer of the book went so far as to say that no cathedrals could ever
be built in our lifetime because there are so few people willing to
sacrifice to that degree.

When I really think about it, I don't want my son to tell the friend
he's bringing home from college for Thanksgiving, "My mom gets up at 4
in the morning and bakes homemade pies, and then she hand bastes a
turkey for three hours and presses all the linens for the table." That
would mean I'd built a shrine or a monument to myself. I just want him
to want to come home. And then, if there is anything more to say to his
friend, to add, "You're gonna love it there."



As mothers, we are building great cathedrals. We cannot be seen if we're doing it right. And one day, it is very possible that the world will
marvel, not only at what we have built, but at the beauty that has been
added to the world by the sacrifices of invisible women.

Another one:

Time and Harvest

Seasons of Life

Embracing Stillness In Our Lives

There is one other thing I keep thinking about and for the life of me I can't remember the mother's name or her son's name. But one of the great preachers of the past was one of a bunch of children. His mother didn't have time for a quiet time. But during the day she would pull her apron up over her head and the children knew mother was unavailable. She was with her Lord.

If I find more about this...I'll post.

I think you might want to look for something to give to the ladies...like THIS EGG TIMER. You could come up with things they have to do in three minutes or less. Then lead into a devotion. Three minutes of jumping jacks. Three minutes of Bible search. Three minutes of doing something blindfolded...like diapering a babydoll. Be creative and think about how this could help women to know how to use their time wisely. Make it funny if you can.

I think that mother is Susannah (sp?) Wesley, mother of John and Charles Wesley?

Thank you so much for responding. You gave me some wonderful things to go on. I had already thought of the timer, but I like your idea of making it fun.

Louise

LovelyLils, you are right. Here's a nice post about Quiet Time and it mentions Susanna Wesley

Quiet Time

God bless your searching, Louise!

Thank you all again! My partner and I have decided to make a journaling notebook out of spiral notebooks. I'll be using some of your ideas as we "fancy" the books up.

Louise