Put Off Procrastination

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Thinking Is a Thing

Decision Making

18 Sep

Former procrastinators, my frustrated husband moaned, “I don’t have time to think!  I just need to think!”

He recognizes the importance of thinking as an activity, a process, deserving of – and requiring – its own time, space, and attention.

The slang expression, “It’s a thing,” highlights the fact that thinking  – or not thinking – is an issue that merits our serious attention. When we procrastinate giving serious thought to something, we essentially opt to live with negative consequences we and others could perhaps have avoided. To sit and ponder an idea, a relationship, a job, a conversation, current events, an article helps to anchor us, brings clarity and direction, and helps us think about other topics more clearly.

Responsibilities give us little time to ourselves.  In the rush, it’s easy to settle for “surface thinking.”  We barely look at a concern because it’s hard to come to a full stop and look long and thoughtfully at it.  It’s a challenge.

In addition, we are quick to grab our phones for diversion when opportunity does present itself. Are we ashamed to sit still and silent in the car?  Are we self-conscious in the waiting room or in our own family room if we aren’t fiddling with our devices?  TV’s, computers, phones, MP3’s, etc.  It’s as if these “diversion devices” are poured into all the cracks and breaks in our day, filling any open space that we could use to breathe, think, imagine.

In the hubbub of speech and debate tournaments, two places are set aside for designated workers only, the Judges’ Room and the Tab Room.  Judges leave the competition and go to the silence of their room.  They consider what they have heard.  Their written evaluations are reviewed for accuracy by a checker who passes them to the Tab Room.  Here, whispering workers pour over ballots and calculate results.  Here in the quiet, it is determined how things will move forward.

Decisions made with careful deliberation are generally wiser than those made in the crowd on the fly.

Believers have the privilege of using God’s Word as our plumb line.  We can ask Him to shed light and direct our thoughts, to lead us to wise conclusions, or to reveal what we need to see.  Should we ponder a child with learning struggles?  Provoking words in a book?  Neglected dreams?

Observe, examine,  evaluate, deliberate, cogitate, meditate, ponder – thinking words we would do well to practice.  Let’s ask the Lord to show us when and help us guard such think time.

Our neighbors have a large swing hanging from a giant oak.  One of their sons often sits there sideways, his back against the rope, one foot on the wooden seat, the other keeping balance in the grass.  He sits alone and quiet, thinking.  I like to see him there.  Maybe I’ll go over and borrow his swing.

What do you need to think deeply about?  When will you do that this week?

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BETH STERNE
Welcome! It's great to have you here. I'm a follower of Christ and a learner of new ways. By His grace, I am gaining victory over procrastination. This is where I share struggles I face and lessons I'm learning. Join me and other sisters as we put off procrastination and put on peace.

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“After Beth came and shared about procrastination, many realized that it is possible through the Lord's power to stop putting off what God has called us to do. One mother finally started a blog and another posted a ladies; tea for her church months in advance so that ...she would not put off having it. Although I thought I was not someone who procrastinates, I realized I had some relationships that I needed to work on. Procrastination, I learned, is not just about getting things turned in on time, it's about listening to God and doing what He says to do when He tells you to and obeying God's Word.”

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2018-08-16T14:43:28-04:00

Rebecca F.

“After Beth came and shared about procrastination, many realized that it is possible through the Lord's power to stop putting off what God has called us to do. One mother finally started a blog and another posted a ladies; tea for her church months in advance so that ...she would not put off having it. Although I thought I was not someone who procrastinates, I realized I had some relationships that I needed to work on. Procrastination, I learned, is not just about getting things turned in on time, it's about listening to God and doing what He says to do when He tells you to and obeying God's Word.”
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/rebecca-f/
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“I never saw myself as a procrastinator until her talk – I just thought of myself as productively busy! She helped me to gain new focus on what my priorities really are.”

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Christine B.

“I never saw myself as a procrastinator until her talk – I just thought of myself as productively busy! She helped me to gain new focus on what my priorities really are.”
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"Beth’s procrastination talk led me to understand procrastination as a heart issue in need of God’s restoration not just a change of my ways. Beth’s personal experiences helped me discover practical ways to attack my own procrastination. As a result I have become a more loving wife, mother and friend who is able to use the gifts God has given me more fully. I highly endorse this talk and would love to hear it again and again."

Julia F.

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2018-08-16T14:42:31-04:00

Julia F.

"Beth’s procrastination talk led me to understand procrastination as a heart issue in need of God’s restoration not just a change of my ways. Beth’s personal experiences helped me discover practical ways to attack my own procrastination. As a result I have become a more loving wife, mother and friend who is able to use the gifts God has given me more fully. I highly endorse this talk and would love to hear it again and again."
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/julia-f/
“Beth’s presentation on procrastination was truly eye-opening. I knew I had a problem with procrastination, but never thought twice about how it impacted my relationships and showed God that I wasn’t onboard with His plan. I began to see each instance took away from being fruitful; I was living for myself! After this revelation, I have been working on procrastinating less. I can see places opening up in my life for more peaceful moments, more time with and for friends and family, and more time for God’s plan to unfold. It’s amazing to know there’s more to life for me than a life full of “should haves” as a result of procrastination.”

Carole S.

Beth Sterne - Put Off Procrastination
2018-08-16T14:42:59-04:00

Carole S.

“Beth’s presentation on procrastination was truly eye-opening. I knew I had a problem with procrastination, but never thought twice about how it impacted my relationships and showed God that I wasn’t onboard with His plan. I began to see each instance took away from being fruitful; I was living for myself! After this revelation, I have been working on procrastinating less. I can see places opening up in my life for more peaceful moments, more time with and for friends and family, and more time for God’s plan to unfold. It’s amazing to know there’s more to life for me than a life full of “should haves” as a result of procrastination.”
https://putoffprocrastination.com/testimonials/carole-s/
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Beth Sterne - Put Off Procrastination
Go to the ant, you sluggard;
consider its ways and be wise! It has
no commander, no overseer or ruler,
yet it stores its provisions in summer
and gathers its food at harvest.
Proverbs 6:6-8
... you have put off the old man with
his deeds, and have put on the new
man who is renewed in knowledge
according to the image of Him who
created him.
Colossians 3:9-10

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