Hello! It’s David here! Yay! It’s my turn to write and share some thoughts. It’s obvious that this blog post is talking about how to be in the moment. Before you pass this article by because an article about Being In the Moment seems so basic, ask yourself this question:
“The last time I had a face to face conversation, how many times did I check my phone and for how long?”
If your answer is anything more than once and more than 30 seconds, then this blog post is for you.
An experiment: applying the Be In the Moment rule
About 2-3 weeks ago when I started mulling over the topic of being in the moment, an old Jim Elliot quote came to mind:
“Wherever you are, be all there! Live to the hilt every situation you believe to be the will of God.” – Jim Elliot
Last week, I took my oldest boy out for a Daddy-Son date afternoon and night. I made it a point to tell my staff team that i’d be out the afternoon and to send email if they had questions, no text or instant messages. We had an amazing night at Disney’s Animal Kingdom! Just me and my son. We had 6 hours of laughing together, noticing scenes in shows, imagining if rides were different, walking in slow motion and on we go. Even further it was a record low in number of pictures for one of our date nights.
At the end of the night, he asked me, “Daddy, did you have a good night?” I responded with “It was so much fun! I loved our date night.” My son responded back “Daddy, I had so much fun, that was our best Disney day.” Needless to say, that 6 hour moment was worth it! He has talked about our Friday date afternoon at least 8 times since then.
Missed Moments
I wish I could say I’m always present and living in the moment, but as you’d expect, I fail miserably often. I remember back at the beginning of the school year, I had some extra work I needed to complete over the weekend and told the kids I’d be gone that Saturday. One of my boys asked:
“Daddy, do you ever stop working? When can we go play at the park?”
That question was like a dagger.
Sadly the missed moments don’t stop there. A few weeks ago we sat down to watch a movie for Friday night family movie night. I was on my phone reading an email and my son asks, “Daddy, did you see that?”, “No, what?” I responded. He replied back “Daddy, can you watch the movie with me?”
In their kid way, my kids are able to point out when I’m not physically or mentally present. As kids, they are acutely aware when I’m not truly “present.” I’m sure i’ve missed many moments because my mind is working on a project at the office or my thumbs are busy texting. It’s not all bad though! Without over spiritualizing it, I think God has an opinion on my missed moment problem.
God wants us to “Be in the moment.”
Check this out from I Thessalonians 5:18 “Rejoice always. Pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” – Stop and think about this for a second. If you’re sitting with your kids, or with a friend, and you’re thumbing away on your cell phone, and your mind is completely somewhere else other than your present circumstance. That’s not “giving thanks” for the current circumstance. In fact I’d have to say that’s closer to telling God you’d like to be in a different moment.
Maybe you’ve heard the term FOMO – “Fear Of Missing Out.”
It’s a phenomenon made popular by social media. It’s the idea that people become addicted to social media driven by the fear that something their friends or people they’re connected to happens and they get left out. Hence, FOMO.
In Philippians 4:6, it says “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – I’d like to suggest that so much of our focus problem, our mental distractions that take us away from the current moment are driven by a lack of prayer and thanksgiving. Both Philippians and 1 Thessalonians clearly instruct Prayer and Thanksgiving as solutions to anxiety or worry.
Matthew 6:34 tells us not to worry about tomorrow. Maximize what the Lord has given you in the “day” or moment you are in. When I see the time with my kids as a gift and privilege from God, it really changes things. Prayer and thankfulness change my perspective.
Be in the moment, because this moment is from the Lord.
Be in the moment, because this booger infested child is from the Lord.
Be in the moment, because this really boring conversation is from the Lord.
Be in the moment, because this hard circumstance is from the Lord.
I choose to be in the moment, by choosing to say Thank you Lord for this moment. This is the day, this is the moment that the Lord has made, I will rejoice and be glad in it.
5 Tips to Be In The Moment
1. Put away your Cell Phone.
Dings, beeps, chirps, notifications… put your cell phone away. That tiny 5″ computer in your pocket is a wonderful tool! But please, keep it in its right place. You can’t multi-task, Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, SnapChat and be present with your child. You know it. I know it.
2. Uncomplicate your life.
Have you created so much worry in your life that even without a cell phone, your mind is filled with dings, chirps and notifications? Maybe theres things in your life that you need to begin removing. There’s so many important things we need to do with our lives. But stop and think about the most important things. I can’t sit here and tell you what is most important other than your walk with Jesus. Pray, ask God for wisdom and for space to begin unwinding your life in such a way that allows you to more fully experience Him and the little world He gave you.
3. Block out time and make it known.
Don’t tell others you’re free when you’re “just with your kids.” Don’t take phone calls during a time you intended to be with the kids. Don’t answer texts when you’re on date night. Block out the time and protect it.
4. Ask God to help you.
Pray. Ask God to help you begin to be in the moment. Ask Him to help you prioritize the right things in your life. Ask him to help you grow in thankfulness. God is faithful to help you do what He has asked you to do.
5. Ask others to help you.
Ask a friend or your small group to check up on you. Like going to the gym, it’s better with a buddy! You don’t have to go it alone.
As I’ve edited this post and re-read it, I find myself needing to heed my own advice. I find myself convicted but also encouraged by Matthew 6:25-34, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself.”
Always continuing to learn to be in the moment.
Journeying with you,
David
Leave a Reply