“How do we get it all in?”, “I don’t have time, I’m too busy.”  I hear the immense priority given to regularly scheduled, repeated, programming of life. Building margin to travel, to meet, be coached, and network is absolutely necessary to build our endurance muscles for ministry over the long haul. This is the system which works for me. Is there flexibility? Oh yes! This is just where I start to set a sustainable pace.

Mondays Are For Communicating – Working from the home office lets me begin the day crazy early with less interruptions. I build the Sunday powerpoints, email the Sunday Saints of what’s upcoming, write notes/postcards to mail, take a walk to settle the bear of overwhelming confusion, place the orders/build the online shopping cart, schedule the social media posts, write the newsletters, work the calendar.

Tuesdays Are For Meeting – In-person meetings grow relationships. Relationships trump tasks. I rise crazy early to weekly blog post and prepare to travel for staff meetings, coffee/tea meetings, deliver books/dinner/lunch/breakfast to families, and collaboratively plan in the hallways and offices of campus and beyond. Network lunch each month, too. Lots of tablelife on Tuesdays.

Wednesdays Are For Learning – This is when I’ll schedule zoom calls for book discussions, travel to trainings, read books and articles, dive into the scriptures, scour the search engines, watch youtube videos, and learn. I love learning and scheduling a learning day (or morning) means I actually set aside time for reading and study. Well-Versed Kids is on Wednesday nights so learning continues. This season we are learning what God has to say about WORK.

Thursdays Are For Staging – Whatever it’s going to take to set the stage and set the tables for Sunday gets done on Thursdays. I walk through spaces, pray through spaces, put away, set up, clean up, and prepare for arrival and dismissal experiences alongside the content prep for shared faith formation experiences so that littles and their bigs continue to love Jesus with their whole hearts for their whole lives.

Fridays Are For Sabbath – The day I do what reminds me that God is good and I am His. 

Saturdays Are For Family – This is the only day Mr. Bob and I have off together so I guard the daylights out of it. It’s fall now so it’s college football starting with The Home Depot’s GameDay. There’s usually a grocery pickup or supply gathering between games. About 4pm I start gathering my mind and heart and stacking the car for what’s planned for Sunday. Mr. Bob says something changes in me around 4pm then off to bed early because Sunday is game day. 

Sundays Are For Celebrating – Celebrating together as a church family so that we can ‘spur one another on’ (Hebrews 10:24-25) for another week to live out the holy habits of discipleship in community. Around tables and in hallways, arriving early and staying late. This season has afternoons filled with Stick Around Sundays, Scout Badge Clinics, events like Fall Gatherings and Campfire Christmas.

How do you set up your week for sustainability and perseverance?

“He will also keep you firm to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:8