Before Doing Anything Else
Today’s message was written by Guest Pastor, Rev. Andy Odom.
My question for you today is: What do you do first when you get up each day? When you first wake up, what do you do? I guess my real question is: How long is it before you begin checking the news or jumping on social media? And then, how much time do you spend there? And then I want to ask: How stressed are you?
One of my mentors in ministry, Margaret Marcuson, recently posted a word about the news. She wrote about how there is so much in the news these days that we can hardly seem to turn away for even a second. We don’t want to miss anything, after all. And then she wrote about how she has been trying to limit her online news consumption to 5-minutes a day. She quotes an article she read stating that “Being up-to-date on the news is a trap and a scam. Five minutes a day is all you need.”
She goes on to share that on the days she is successful at limiting her exposure to the onslaught of “breaking news” reports and urgent updates, she does better. “On those days, I am calmer, more able to focus on my own goals, and more productive,” she says.
Here are some questions you can ask yourself about how you take in the news:
- Where do you typically get the news?
- Do you time yourself on how long you spend “getting updated”?
- Have you turned off alerts and, instead, checked the headlines at certain times?
The point is, if you are not deliberate in how you take in what is going on in the world, you are going to be overwhelmed all the time. I recently ran across this suggestion:
“When you wake in the morning, don’t open your internet, or read the papers, until you have first said good morning to God. Have a prayer or a psalm that you say first thing, to greet God, to reaffirm who you are, and why you are. Rediscover joy first thing in the morning: think on what is true, and lovely, and honorable and pure, before you face the world – and Facebook.”
Prayer: Good morning Lord. Thank you for being who you are and for making us who we are. Be with us today in all that we do. Help us remember that we are always yours, and you are always with us. Amen.
Daily Message Author: Andy Odom
The Rev. Andrew S. Odom grew up in Dallas, Texas and currently serves as senior pastor of Canyon Creek Presbyterian Church, a large and vibrant congregation in Richardson. He and his wife Denise, who is also a pastor, have two girls, Marguerite and Mackenzie. He holds degrees in economics and history from the University of Texas and completed his Master of Divinity degree at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary. Full Bio
