Shopping for Time

This 94 page book is an easy read, so there's no excuses, ladies. I finished in 2 settings, one being a long Sunday afternoon on the couch. :) It will be most helpful to those who have not spent much time on the Mahaney's website (www.girltalk.blogs.com), because much of the material is covered there. However, it is a terrific reminder to all of us with more details then you'll get on the blog.

AND, if you live in Louisville, you can order it from the Book Nook at $9. Get out, right!?! We love the Book Nook!

Okay, here's the idea. God has called us to many things concering our time - make the best of it, redeem it, use it, etc. Biblical wisdom on our stewardship of our days on earth is plentiful. The Mahaney gals make an analogy of shopping. We gals are savvy shoppers. I didn't know how much fun it would be to work on getting nutritious and yummy meals on the table for increasingly LESS money by learning savvy shopping tricks. Yet, we cruise along life spending our time on this or that without planning, thinking, or considering carefully the best "bargains", if you will. With this analogy of shopping carefully for time, the Mahaney gals maintain the regular Sovereign Grace Ministries' balance between rich theology and precious practical living tips.

Some of it is just plain funny. Dustin and I get a huge kick out of some of their advice for the first tip (Rise Early).

Be prepared to feel absolutely miserable for about ten to fifteen minutes. But the misery soon turns into pure gladness as you experience the delight of meeting with God and reap the benefits the rest of the day. Fifteen minutes of misery is certainly worth fifteen-plus hours of peace and productivity.

So with school rolling around shortly and our newly reinstated "rising early" goals, Dustin and I are beginning a new night routine. It's funny. To us, anyway. We'll say our good nights and include, "Hey babe, you ready?" "Huh?" "Are you ready to feel awful in the morning? Man, we're going to hate it. We're going to curse our alarm clock and feel like crud. Terrific!" "Can't wait. Good night." It goes something like that anyway.

On a different note, this book gets at your motives. Of course, it hits on the things I always need to hear. For this topic, WHO am I trying to please with how I spend my time? Myself? My co-workers? My house guests? My LORD is the only answer that is sufficient.

"Only God gets His to-do list done," was the loving reminder that C.J. gave his gals awhile back. I love it. One of my church friends has the entire quote written on a note card in her kitchen.

Each chapter contains tips about the why's and how's of being savvy shoppers of time. It's geared towards women, but I think this one would be a good read for the guys, too. Dustin and I just love the Sovereign Grace Books. They are so helpful to marriages, families, etc.

I don't want to ruin the book for you, but another neat part was when they talk about interruptions as sovereign deliveries (based on a Lewis quote.

What about you? When was the last time you had a visitor when you were trying to finish your reading for seminary? When was the last time you got stuck in traffic that made you late and annoyed? When did you map out your to-do list only to have circumstances change everything? WHO caused these things to "interrupt" your plans? That's right. Your Maker and Sustainer.

Those are just a few of my favorite sections, although I loved everything they said about taking the time to plan out your year, your week, your day, your relationships, etc. There are a million needs out there and we women want to tackle them all. But we can't and we shouldn't. What things should we choose based on what season we are in as women? If you don't know, go grab this book.

And don't forget the most important tip in the book: sit still.

A much more thorough review can be found here. I've kept this short for the sake of time. :)

Buy it here.

Read an interview with the Mahaney gals here, here and here.