Lesson 7. Take it one day at a time, and don't get ahead of yourself.

I have a very frequent and somewhat frustrating tendency to get ahead of myself in my work. It's always good to "see the big picture," but only once in a while. I have big plans and goals, but I'm looking so far down the road that I can't focus on the here and now. Ironically, if you don't focus on the present, the future will never become what you envision for it! There will always be lessons to write, people to visit, programs to map out, rooms to rearrange, blogs to write on, people to call, and so on and so forth...so don't sweat it if things aren't exactly the way you want them right now.

Teens, and adults too, don't, and won't, care all that much about what your "vision for the youth ministry" is if you can't do the day-to-day things well. Map out your day with what needs to be done today, in order of importance. Make that call, send that newsletter for the week, write your lesson for Sunday, and reserve that retreat site. Get the little things done today...so later on, the big things will fall into place. Big things are really just lots of little things with something in common. It starts small. A retreat starts with transportation and campsite reservations, not a one-day work-a-thon to plan the whole thing and wear yourself out.

So, take it one day at a time. Get the things done that need to be done today, and then start looking long-range again. The future won't be what you envision it to be if you can't see what's right in front of you.