Procrastination has had a powerful effect on my life.
I'm not sure all of the reasons why, but when I know that I'm supposed to be doing something (like right now, when I'm supposed to be studying for Sunday's message), I have all kinds of attention and motivation for doing something completely different!
Back in college, I tried my hand at baking chocolate chip cookie bars when I should have been studying. Heather and I still call those particular delicacies "Procrastination Bars." And I still have some of the extra weight hanging around!
I just realized yesterday that I need to get on the stick with the stack of books and papers that I need to accomplish for my CCEF class. At my current rate, I'll get it all done about 2 weeks after the class; so I need to step it up.
While I'm re-reading my last book for the first paper: Running Scared (which is one of the absolutely best books I've read in the last 3 years!), I'm using the power of procrastination to read other books that I probably ought not to be making so much progress on!
For example, I'm half way done with Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. This is, by far, the best single book I've read on worship and leading worship. It takes the best of the 2nd best book I've read on worship (Worship by the Book by D.A. Carson, read his definition of worship here.) and builds on it and makes the whole thing incredibly practical. Every worship leader should read and re-read this book.
Here's a video of Bob talking about the ideas in the book:
And then, I go and order MORE BOOKS!
I pre-ordered a copy of Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World by C.J. Mahaney and some other SGM pastors (which is, for a limited time, offered at 35% off!).
And while I'm pre-ordering that, I can't seem to stop myself from pre-ordering the ESV Study Bible from Crossway, too. Don't worry--I have birthday money to use to buy these items! I'll still be feeding my family.
I've been looking at that ESV Study Bible for a while. It's being put together by a host of men that I highly respect, including one of my favorite bloggers, Justin Taylor, managing editor.
But it was RCO's recent post on the ESV that pushed me over the edge:
I'm not sure all of the reasons why, but when I know that I'm supposed to be doing something (like right now, when I'm supposed to be studying for Sunday's message), I have all kinds of attention and motivation for doing something completely different!
Back in college, I tried my hand at baking chocolate chip cookie bars when I should have been studying. Heather and I still call those particular delicacies "Procrastination Bars." And I still have some of the extra weight hanging around!
I just realized yesterday that I need to get on the stick with the stack of books and papers that I need to accomplish for my CCEF class. At my current rate, I'll get it all done about 2 weeks after the class; so I need to step it up.
While I'm re-reading my last book for the first paper: Running Scared (which is one of the absolutely best books I've read in the last 3 years!), I'm using the power of procrastination to read other books that I probably ought not to be making so much progress on!
For example, I'm half way done with Worship Matters by Bob Kauflin. This is, by far, the best single book I've read on worship and leading worship. It takes the best of the 2nd best book I've read on worship (Worship by the Book by D.A. Carson, read his definition of worship here.) and builds on it and makes the whole thing incredibly practical. Every worship leader should read and re-read this book.
Here's a video of Bob talking about the ideas in the book:
And then, I go and order MORE BOOKS!
I pre-ordered a copy of Worldliness: Resisting the Seduction of a Fallen World by C.J. Mahaney and some other SGM pastors (which is, for a limited time, offered at 35% off!).
And while I'm pre-ordering that, I can't seem to stop myself from pre-ordering the ESV Study Bible from Crossway, too. Don't worry--I have birthday money to use to buy these items! I'll still be feeding my family.
I've been looking at that ESV Study Bible for a while. It's being put together by a host of men that I highly respect, including one of my favorite bloggers, Justin Taylor, managing editor.
But it was RCO's recent post on the ESV that pushed me over the edge:
The ESV Study Bible comes out this October. I see an opportunity here. Could we all give ourselves ESV Study Bibles for Christmas and then set 2009 apart as "Our Year of the Bible"? Could we all give less to other things so that we give more to the Bible? Could we bore down together and discover the wonders of this holy Book as never before? Could we acknowledge our spiritual hunger, and thoughtfully, carefully, attentively, daily feed our souls? Could we shut off the noise and listen? Could we re-set our focus from the voices inside our heads to the Voice in the Book? And if we did, is it even conceivable that we could then come to the end of 2009 and say, "Dang. I could have done more TV and more computer and more video games and more dumb stuff. What a loser year 2009 has been! Next year, man, it's going to be different. No more of this Bible-focus for me. I'm going to LIVE again"? Is there any chance, any chance at all, that could happen? Or might Jesus become more real to us? Might the Holy Spirit be poured out? Might we look back on 2009 as our turn-around year?
October 2008. The ESV Study Bible. Think of the possibilities.
That's right. Now, if only I can use the power of procrastination to read my Bible!
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