Ah, Wonderful Focus

Focus:

A central point, as of attraction, attention, or activity.

The clear and sharply defined condition of an image.

To concentrate; to focus one's thoughts.

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Focus. It's a beautiful thing.

When we first moved to Hobbit Cottage, focusing on any one thing was impossible. Move into a new place and oh! There are boxes to unpack, places to find to put things away, walls to paint, changes to make in the yard and workers to call to make repairs and make things the way you want them. There are new bills to pay, address changes to make, neighbors to meet, places of business to locate, cable to hook-up, plus, the daily living we already must do. 

Focusing upon your Life's callings becomes only a dream. At least for a while.

But focus is vital. My yard this summer required tremendous concentration and energy, for I had to keep dreaming, planning, doing, planting and driving to Home Depot for heavy bags of soil and bricks and flowers, otherwise this project today would be a half-started mess. 

Gardening had to remain upon my mind and not become all diluted by tv watching, book reading, shopping, emailing, magazine reading, Facebooking, visiting, cleaning, countryside driving, organizing, yard-saling, blah.... blah.. blah... blah...

Without focus, things only half-live, never reach their potential and die sad, early deaths.

The best areas for all your concentrated focus are the reasons God placed you here. Here are mine:

Spending time with God.

Being a great wife and homemaker.

Blogging/writing/being an encourager for/to others.

Is that all I'm here on this planet to do? Nah. But it's my personal Top Five reasons, at least now, at age 53.

And one thing I know? Those five things should be what I give the majority of my time, effort and strength. 

They should most be on my mind. They should receive my early-in-the-day strength because it's the best and I should be working and studying to improve them. Those areas should be reserved for all the best creative energy I have inside me.

And you know? There's simplicity in that, a calm which comes over me as I consider placing my main concentration in these areas. God is not a slave driver and He's not setting me up to fail by asking me to focus upon 57 different things.

No, He knows what I can handle and He knows what it will take to complete the mission He's given me. 

It will require Him.

It will require Grace.

It will require obedience.

It will require Focus.

And as long as I have Him, nothing will be impossible.

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Focus. It's much better than doing a little this and a little that, dousing this tiny fire, then that one and living all across the board, accomplishing nothing and leaving no real legacy.


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 “A little sleep, a little slumber,
         A little folding of the hands to rest,”

Then your poverty will come as a robber
         And your want like an armed man."   ... Proverbs 24:33, 34

"Therefore I, a prisoner for serving the Lord, beg you to lead a life worthy of your calling, for you have been called by God."     ... Ephesians 4:1

Is this cool or what? Tom, Naomi and I went out to the countryside yesterday and shopped a ton of yard sales and this was my favorite find: this old Craftsman lamp base, for just .10 cents. 

Yes, only .10 cents! 

Tom will replace the cord for me someday, but in the meantime, this lamp makes me smile.

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Need more information about the necessity of focus and not wasting time with distractions? Here's a message which has reminded me of  focus' importance and leaving the Past where it belongs. In the Past.

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