a sense of urgency is tremendous!

December is the most boisterous month of the year. There are decorations to put up, gifts to buy, cards to mail, parties to plan, plane tickets to purchase, plays to attend, and extended time spent behind the wheel as you try and peacefully share the road with everyone else doing the same thing. We move with a purpose and a sense of urgency because there are deadlines peppered throughout our calendars the entire month. But what if we could move with this type of urgency the other eleven months of the year? Growing up, our vacations consisted of accompanying our father, Charlie “Tremendous” Jones on his speaking engagements. Many times, we were packed into RV’s of various sizes along with luggage and books for the long drive to the next meeting. It reinforced a strong sense that work and leisure could be inextricably linked, as long as you loved what you were doing. When my father was done with his formal speaking engagement, he would offer to do free meetings or sermons for other groups in that area. In other words, as long as he was there he filled his calendar and made the best use of every moment. This developed a sense of strong time accountability in me as well. When we hear the word urgent, we think, “Oh no! Panic mode! Something’s on fire! I’ve got to drop these balls and start juggling others!” But the sense of urgency my father taught me was one of a constant and steady internal drive to make the most out of every moment. This kind of urgency doesn’t give you ulcers, it gives you meaning! If life is a gift, I want to get the most wear and use out of every day. If life is an investment, I want to maximize my return on every second of time. My sense of urgency today defines the size of my burden tomorrow. The quicker I move today, the lighter my load tomorrow. The true source of stress is not having too much to do; it’s not doing what I should be doing.