Margin - Do You Have It?

We get involved in too many things. When we say yes to every good thing that comes our way we leave no room to say yes to the great things because we don't have enough space in our lives. That space is called margin.

Margin - an amount allowed or available beyond what is actually necessary

I'm convinced that a lack of margin is not only disconnecting us from God it's literally killing us. I love the way Mark Batterson wrote about margin - check it out.

One of the hardest things for me to do right now is to maintain a margin. It's hard to keep up with email. I can't meet with everybody I'd like to meet with. It's tough to juggle pastoring and writing. And my kids need their dad more than ever. But for all of those reasons, maintaining margin is the key to maintaining everything else. Starting with sanity!

When you lose margin, you lose perspective.
When you lose margin, you lose creativity.
When you lose margin, you lose gratitude.
When you lose margin, you lose peace of mind.
When you lose margin, you lose sensitivity to the Holy Spirit.
When you lose margin, you lose emotional reserves.

So how do you maintain margin? I think it comes down to time management. If you don't control your calendar, your calendar will control you. You've got to schedule time with God. And it probably needs to be a consistent time slot. You've got to schedule time for yourself. That includes days off, days without meetings, off site meetings, etc. If you need to, schedule reading time! Or just put a book in the bathroom!