A BALANCED LIFE includes PLANNING

​It has long been a guiding principal of mine to first plan, then execute the plan. It comes from the training I received in the undergraduate School of Architecture. There are lot of pieces to the planning process as well as the implementation of that plan. So this BLOG includes two parts. First is about planning and then execution.

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                                    PART ONE ~ Planning

Leading a balanced life requires attention to how we spend our time. Planning is a big part of this every day. For our joy to be full and our days led as a blessing to others and enjoyable to us we need to maintain a healthy attitude. One way I start the day is to recite what a plaque on our refrigerator states, “GOOD MORNING GOD, WHAT EVER YOU’RE UP TO TODAY, COUNT ME IN!”
It is a reminder for me to spend my day in concert with God’s plan not just mine. 

The Bible illustrates a lot about Planning. The LORD said, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”  Jeremiah 29:11

This indicates God has a plan; actually, many of them for you and me. It takes practice but it is a very good idea to keep in close and regular contact with God so we can know His plan, His plans for us. One way to do that is to practice what we read in Proverbs.

    “Commit to the Lord whatever you do, and he will establish your plans.” Proverbs 16:3

Driven and strong willed people want to do things their own way and that is not always the best way to proceed. When we are facing an effort that demands some planning do we consider how the LORD’s purpose might guide our thinking?

    ​​“Many are the plans in a person’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” Proverbs 19:21

Phil Wiegand in his KingdomNomics book that shares how to "enjoy a life that will echo into eternity” reveals four plans he sees in the historical chronicle about Jesus, Paul, Abraham and Moses.   

    The Jesus Plan:    To seek and to save the lost.        
    Jesus said to him, “For the Son of Man came to seek and to save the lost.”  Luke 19:10​

    The Paul Plan:    To preach the gospel to the Gentiles.
    “Go! This man is my chosen instrument to proclaim my name to the Gentiles and their kings and to the people of Israel.”  Acts: 9:15

    The Abraham Plan:   To found a great nation to bless the earth.
    “The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you. I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you;”  Genesis 12:1-2

    The Mosses Plan:   To bring the Israelites to the Land of Promise.
    The Lord said, “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering. So I have come down to rescue them from the hand of the Egyptians and to bring them up out of that land into a good and spacious land, a land flowing with milk and honey—the home of the Canaanites, Hittites, Amorites, Perizzites, Hivites and Jebusites. And now the cry of the Israelites has reached me, and I have seen the way the Egyptians are oppressing them. So now, go. I am sending you to Pharaoh to bring my people the Israelites out of Egypt.”  Exodus 3:8-10

Wiegand sees how,  “God’s kingdom is increased by men and women who tap into the purpose that God has for them. They understand that their story is part of a much bigger story, His story, and this great insight becomes their guiding light.”

Is it possible YOUR STORY is not in concert with the bigger story, His story?                             Pause and give it some thought!

We know we are a part of a bigger plan and need to act effectively with the tools that God endowed to us to do His work. To do that we do need to seek God’s guidance as we plan our activities. 

The Apostle Paul realized this as reported in Ephesians 2:10;
“For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

​All this to say that I include what I believe God has in store for what He wants me to do when I engage in any planning.

       Next BLOG will focus on an example to execute that follows planning.