15 minutes

I remember once before I had kids telling a mom who did have kids that I didn't know how to get anything done if I didn't have a 2 hour block of time. And she just kind of looked at me. And I looked at her back.

I am just not a very fast person. One of the reasons why I woke up early in the morning as a teenager is that I needed about 2 hrs to be ready to roll out the door for school. It was the getting dressed, thinking, eating breakfast, thinking, packing my backpack, thinking, fighting with my brothers, thinking. It was very slow and very comforting. Waking up and rushing out has always been unpleasant to me.

So I had kids. At the beginning, any two hour stretch I had was for sleeping. To get 2 hrs to myself, I have to pay for childcare. And I did that sometimes, but generally since I didn't usually have 2 hrs for anything, I didn't get anything done. Or I got things done just barely.

So, dear world, I have finally learned what everyone probably already knows, the power of 15 minutes. I used to fritter away 15 minutes as if nothing of consequence could be accomplished in 15 minutes. But the past 2 months, I've learned a lot about what I can get done in 15 minutes.

Every morning (just about) for the past 2 months, I've written 750 words of whatever. That takes me 15-20 minutes. So I've now accumulated 35-40 THOUSAND words. I've used this space to process thoughts in general but also for my research and other parts of life that need some planning. The practice of writing has made it a bit easier to write my current research project because I'm simply more accustomed to sitting at my computer and spewing words. Writing articles used to be very laborious because I labored over every word. Now I put them down with the expectation that I'll go back through and edit.

Also, I've been lifting weights in my garage for 15 minutes every weekday. After being accustomed to hour-long workouts in the gym, I wasn't sure that 15 minutes would be very useful, but I figured it would be more than nothing. Well, after six weeks of lifting every day using less-than-maximal weights, I tested my maxes. I set personal records on all the lifts I had been doing beating even pre-surgery records.

Obviosuly, there are actually two things going on. First is that 15 minutes is small enough to squeeze around my kids' lives. I write before they wake up. I lift while they are safely tucked in their rooms for quiet time.  Secondly, I'm doing these frequently, basically daily. And 15 minutes a day adds up. 750 words a day is 5250 words a week. 20 squats a day is 100 squats a week.

Vacuuming and mopping used to be huge mental hurdles until I timed them and realized they were 10-15 minute tasks. Now I think, it's not that hard to squeeze that in.

I'm still not a very fast person. I still like a lot of thinking breaks. I certainly don't string together 15 minute tasks into an HOUR OF PRODUCTIVITY!! But I think I've at least learned to value 15 minutes, actually treasure them as little bubbles of awesome. Better late than never.

Book Review: Seeking God's Face

When I was a kid, I was introduced to two kinds of personal interactions with God, aka "daily devotion" or "quiet time". The first was a short lesson based on a short verse. You read it and move on. The second was Search the Scriptures which involved reading a longer passage and then answering questions about it, in other words, the Bible as homework.

To this day to my mind, the "gold" standard for personal time with God is a study about a book or topic that goes deep into the Bible. But what I find I want and am able to sustain is regular touches with God of scripture and the thoughts of other believers.

Last Christmas, N got me this book, Seeking God's Face, and it fit really well into my life this past year. There's been a lot to like about the book. In no particular order:

• The book feels good in the hand with a soft/fake leather cover and nice pages with a book mark ribbon.
• It's organized around the church calendar noting Advent, Lent, Easter, Ordinary time and so forth. It hits that at the right amount of detail for me; the major time divisions without every feast day.
• Each day is 2 pages of text. Just about right for a moment with my cup of coffee after the kids have finished breakfast and before we get going for the day. 
• Through a week, the opening verse and the closing blessing with be the same. This has allowed me to "hum" along with a theme for the week.
• There are several reminders to slow down, be quiet, and reflect on the passages just read.
• Each day there's a new bit from Psalms and one from somewhere else in the Bible. Some times the "somewhere else" bit will follow a story for a few days in a row. 
• Because of the church calendar thing, each entry is specifically dated for the years 2011-2026? So if I miss a few days, I know exactly how many days it's been since my bookmark moved.
• At the end, there are a few bullet points for prayer items. The ones I've been struck by this year is praying for different geographical areas, leaders in different spheres of influence like government and business, and care for the environment. I tend to bristle if I feel like people have an "agenda" about how I should feel about things as a believer. These prayer items have reminded me that no matter how I think things should be, I should submit them to God's care first. 
• I've really been challenged by the short written prayer at the end of each reading. The prayers are based on a classic creed or confession but they are so fresh and pertinent to how my heart can be now.  

All this to say that this book has kept me at the "spring of living water" this year. It's less intense than a deep dive into the Bible, but very tangible and consistent. Or maybe a way to say it is that it's helped me get back into the habit of hearing God through the Bible. 

As advent approaches in a few short days, I'm not sure what to do. Like the church year, Advent is the beginning of this book, so I'm in the last few pages of it at the moment. I have liked the Nouwen book I have for Advent readings, so I may head back there for the season. We'll see. Anyways, outside of Advent and Lent for which I have other materials, Seeking God's Face is an excellent way to spend a bit of time with God daily.