let me check my calendar...

Fill in the blank...

• "Hey - How're things going for you?" "Oh they're good - just staying [ ]"
• "You know I'd love to, but I really can't - I'm just too [ ]"
• "[ ] as a bee!"

We are busy. It is a simple fact. But is it a good thing? Various sources will tell you it's good...others that it's bad. So what are we to think of our busy lives? Being "busy" may not be a bad thing in and of itself...but did you know that the average father spends 3 minutes a day with their children? 3 minutes! Maybe - just maybe - being busy is not always such a good thing.

In October Aspen Grove Student Ministries heads for the hills - our 2nd annual Nederland Retreat...the purpose being for students to "retreat" from the busy-ness that often overtakes their lives. When recently asked why they weren't going...one teenager replied - "I'm just really busy." My initial thought..."Exactly!" The reality is our teenagers are busy...maybe too busy. But another reality is that you're busy...maybe too busy. The tyranny of the urgent, the pressure to succeed, things to which we can't say "no" and a fast-paced society all contribute to the inescapability of being busy.

HomeWord Ministries provides 5 tips for busy parents and an additional 6 tips for busy teenagers that I encourage you to read and consider applying to your lives and to your teen's:

• "5 tips for Helping Busy Parents Reprioritize Their Lives" - http://www.homeword.com/Articles/ArticleDetail.aspx?iArticleId=117
• "How to Get Your Kids Involved but Not Overcommitted"- http://homeword.com/Articles/ArticleDetail.aspx?iArticleId=399

And the fact is that being busy may be keeping you from something more...from doing the things that really matter! Kerry and Chris Shook recently released the New York Times Bestseller "One Month to Live" - challenging audiences to live the next 30 days as though they were their last. If you had one month...only one...how would your life change? What would you begin to say "no" to so that you could say "yes" to the things that matter.

Don't let "busy-ness" rule your life! Besides...even God rested (Genesis 2:2)!