The Theologians: Croce and Chapin

redeeming the time, because the days are evil. –Eph. 5:16

Everyone tries to capture the tangible mystic of time. In my generation, two popular songs that caught the American imagination on this subject was Jim Croce’s Time in a Bottle and Harry Chapin’s Cats in the Cradle. (Yes, I realize I am dating myself.) As far as lyrics go, they hit the nerve of the parental tension of enjoying both wife and children but also trying to make ends meet. Both songs have gained musical immortality as their message still rings true today. How do we snatch time for those things that matter most from the iron grip of those things that matter least? Ironically, Croce died at 30 when his plane crashed shortly after takeoff in Louisiana, and Chapin was hit by a semi that ended his life at 38 in his home state of New York. Time seemed to mock their attempt to apprehend it.

Almost any homeschooling parent can relate to the great gulf of time as a dear friend or an intolerant enemy. Despite how much we try to control and organize our days, the minutes and hours fly past us at the speed of diapers, math, mealtime, and laundry. We may as well try to grasp water with our hands as to slow down life. So, when God tells us to redeem the time, what does that mean and how do we do it?

To redeem the time is not so much a comment on the clock as it is being sensitive to the opportunities that God brings our way. It is to focus on spiritual and eternal prospects and not get overly caught up in the lies of materialism and hedonism. It is such a sad thing to see people climbing up the ladder of success, only to get to the top rung, and realize their ladder has been leaning against the wrong building all the time. They have everything they want, and the price tag was everything they truly needed.

There is a plethora of time management books and resources on the market, so there is no need for me to try and compete with that. There are, however, two suggestions to consider, one practical and the other spiritual. Practically, I encourage my children to think in blocks of 15 minutes. While we might not have an hour open to get a lot of big things done, but we often have time to get a lot of small ones done. A room can be picked up in 15 minutes or the dishwasher unloaded. Animals can also be fed. If you have three or four maturing children, that adds up to an hour. This can greatly impact a week.

Spiritually, we need to seek the Holy Spirit who is the agent of grace. The Greek word for grace is charis, whose definition includes divine influence. Therefore, grace is God’s empowerment to do things we cannot do on our own, and that includes how we redeem the time. Some are great with their time, accomplishing much, while others of us stay busy but see little get done.

The prayer requests below could also be used as great conversation starters at the dinner table. Just engaging our aging children on the subject could start their wheels turning about how they could better redeem their future.

1. Pray that God will help us to discern between the urgent things in life versus the genuinely important ones. Some things that demand our attention really are not energy worthy, but because they yell “Urgent!” we think they are more important than they are.
   1. The sluggard says, “There is a lion in the road! There is a lion in the streets!”–Proverbs 26:13
   2. He waited seven days, the time appointed by Samuel. But Samuel did not come to Gilgal, and the people were scattering from him. –1 Samuel 13:8 (Saul got in a hurry and didn’t wait on Samuel to make the sacrifice.)
2. Pray that we will not waste time and energy worrying about things in life we cannot control but simply give them to God and leave them there. Often, the things we worry about never materialize.
   1. do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. –Phil 4:6
   2. And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life? –Matt. 6:27
3. Pray less that we would use our time more wisely and pray more that we would make our life choices more wisely in the first place. This includes saying “no” to things we both like and dislike but are unimportant. Remember, the enemy of the great is the good.
   1. The discerning sets his face toward wisdom, but the eyes of a fool are on the ends of the earth. –Proverbs 17:24
   2. The wisdom of the prudent is to discern his way, but the folly of fools is deceiving. –Proverbs 14:8
4. Pray that we will not let screen time take away from our relationship with Christ or our children. This includes mindless scrolling and social media stalking.
   1. Turn my eyes from looking at worthless things; and give me life in your ways. –Psalms 119:37
5. Pray that God would give us insight in how to better include our children in our projects and maintenance around the house in order to 1) show them how too much stuff can demand too much time, 2) know how to do projects around the house, and 3) learn that maintenance is a part of life.
   1. So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. –Psalms 90:12
   2. And Noah had three sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth. –Gen 6:10 (built the ark together.)
6. Pray the Holy Spirit will grace us to show godly restraint not simply with our resources but especially with our time which can never be bought back.
   1. And I declare to him that I am about to punish his house forever, for the iniquity that he knew, because his sons were blaspheming God, and he did not restrain them. –1 Samuel 3:13
   2. Every athlete exercises self-control in all things. They do it to receive a perishable wreath, but we an imperishable. –1 Cor. 9:25
7. Pray that God would instill in our hearts and minds that we truly can’t have it all and we certainly can’t do it all. We must be content with the lifestyle God gives us.
   1. Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned, in whatever situation I am, to be content. –Phil. 4:11
   2. “Because he knew no contentment in his belly, he will not let anything in which he delights escape him. –Job 20:20
8. Pray that God will help us to truly enjoy recreation (re-create) and not just engage in mindless activities that are little more than manifestations of sensuality.
   1. but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. –Is. 40:31
   2. So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. –1 Cor. 4:16
9. Pray that God will help us to attend to any manifestation of procrastination, especially for those things we don’t like to do or feel we have insufficient skill in. Pray that we will see these things as learning experiences and not pass/fail.
   1. A little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to rest, and poverty will come upon you like a robber, and want like an armed man. –Proverbs 24:33,34
   2. Go to the ant, O sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise. Without having any chief, officer, or ruler, she prepares her bread in summer and gathers her food in harvest. –Proverbs 6:6-8
   3. So Amasa went to summon Judah, but he delayed beyond the set time that had been appointed him. –2 Samuel 20:5 (Amasa was late to the time set and it ended up costing him his life.)
10. Pray that we will discern that some seasons and times are more important than others and need special focus and consideration.
    1. He who gathers in summer is a prudent son, but he who sleeps in harvest is a son who brings shame. –Proverbs 10:5

Some practical time hacks

1. Keep a 3X 5 card handy to write down thoughts and tasks that need to be done that come to you throughout the day, so you won’t forget them later when you have time. This To-Do list will save you time when you try to think what it is was you were going to do. This includes shopping lists.
2. Plan the next day’s schedule out in your mind. If materials need to be gathered, do that the night before.
3. While we want to schedule the next day, don’t schedule it so tightly that you don’t have room to breathe. Triple this for young children. Give them ample time to play.
4. Lay your younger children’s clothes out for the next day. Double points if you do this on Saturday night for Sunday church. It will save much frustration.
5. Put smart phones up until the afternoon. Don’t answer calls and texts during your school hours. This includes setting a time to answer texts and emails once or twice a day rather than responding 25 times a day.
6. Limit the number of notifications on your phone as well as automated emails.
7. Do a quick exercise, like sitting against the wall for 30 seconds or 10 pushups every hour or every other hour to keep your blood flowing and your focus sharp.
8. Don’t try to accomplish too much in a day. Better to do a few things well with less stress than many things half-way.
9. Minimize multi-tasking.
10. Designate at least 30 minutes daily for recreation. This could be a walk, reading time (kids too!), or hobby time.
11. Rather than trying to catch up on Saturday, take one or two evenings out a week to work on things.
12. Delegate some responsibilities to your children.
13. Don’t just manage your time, think in terms of managing your energy. What are your peak hours for energy and focus? Kids too! Do your tough tasks then.
14. When it comes to having storage bins, label them 1, 2, 3, 4, etc. and then have a clip board with what bins contain what items. This will keep you from long searches.
15. Similarly, keep you children’s toys in bins. Do not let them get more than one bin out at a time. This will teach them to share, learn restraint, as well as less clean-up for you.
16. Have the family make a quick trip through the house before bedtime to pick up toys, put dishes in the dishwasher, and place clothes in the hamper or appropriate drawer.
17. Before making a purchase, always think about how much maintenance it takes as opposed to how much pleasure/purpose it gives. The best two days for boat owners are the day they buy the boat and the day they sell it.
18. If you have little ones, put a plastic cloth underneath the highchair. When done, take it outside and shake it out. You are already prepared for the next meal.
19. Prepare menu and meals a week in advance and do your shopping accordingly. Freeze meals and use the crockpot when possible. You can designate different meals as Mexican, Italian, American, etc.
20. Teaching your children how to work is never a waste of time. By the time they are 8 years old, they should be competent to do certain chores, saving you time and teaching them responsibility.