April 2: Hang Out Time @ Chuck’s at 6:30pm
April 4: Camp of the Cross Annual Meeting in Bismarck at 3:00pm
April 11: Easter SonRise Service, 7:00 a.m. at church
Easter Breakfast sponsored by PYO 8:00a.m. at church
Easter Egg Hunt sponsored by KOPS, 8:30 a.m. at church
April 13: Youth Ministry Team Meeting, 6:30 at church
April 16: Hang Out Time @ Chuck’s, 6:30pm
April 20: Youth Board Meeting, 6:00pm at church
April 25: KOPS Youth Group (Video Scavenger Hunt), 2:00-4:00pm at church
PYO Youth Group (Bowling in Beulah), 5:00-7:00pm
April 30: Hang Out Time @ Chuck’s, 6:30pm
In the middle of a seminar on time management, recalls Stephen Covey is his book First Things First, the lecturer said, “Okay, it’s time for a quiz.” Reaching under the table, he pulled out a wide mouthed gallon jar and set it on the table next to a platter covered with fist-sized rocks. “How many of these rocks do you think we can get in the jar?” he asked the audience.
After the students made their guesses, the seminar leader said, “Okay, let’s find out.” He put one rock in the jar, then another – until no more rocks would fit. Then he asked, “Is the jar full?”
Everybody could see that not one more of the rocks would fit, so they said, “Yes.”
“Not so fast,” he cautioned. From under the table he lifted out a bucket of gravel, dumped it in the jar, and shook it. The gravel slid into all the little spaces left by the big rocks. Grinning, the seminar leader asked once more, “Is the jar full?”
A little wiser by now, the students responded, “Probably not.” “Good,” the teacher said. Then he reached under the table to bring up a bucket of sand. He started dumping the sand in the jar. While the students watched, the sand filled in the little spaces left by the rocks and gravel. Once more he looked at the class and said, “Now, is the jar full?”
“No,” everyone shouted back. “Good!” said the seminar leader who then grabbed a pitcher of water and began to pour it into the jar. He got something like a quart of water into that jar before he said, “Ladies and gentlemen, the jar is now full. Can anybody tell me the lesson you can learn from this? What’s my point?”
An eager participant spoke up: “Well, there are gaps in your schedule. And if you really work at it, you can always fit more into your life.” “No,” the leader said. “That’s not the point. The point is this: If I hadn’t put those big rocks in first, I would have never gotten them in.”
The big rocks in the story represent our top priorities in life – the most important things we do. Jesus taught that our number one priority is to love God with all our heart, mind and strength. Taking time each day to talk with God through prayer and also to listen to Him is like the big rocks – if we don’t get that time in right up front, all the little, less-important things will crowd out God’s space in our lives. Are we indeed making worship a priority in our lives on a weekly or even daily basis? That is the biggest rock we can put in our life jars each week. To enjoy a happy and fulfilling life in Christ Jesus, we must put the BIG ROCK (Jesus) in our life jars first. When we do this, we’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much time is left for all the little things in life. I hope you each have a blessed Easter season!
Just servin’ the Lord!,
Chuck Haff
Youth Director