Reflection Options  

Journal  (reflect on one or more of these questions)

• Do you tend to think of time more like an a) inalienable right, b) a scarce resource, c) a God-given gift, or d) a stewardship? Explain the one you tend toward and explore one you don’t.  What would it be like to think of time that way?

• Would you rather have more hours in a day or more days in a week?  Why? What does your response tell you about how you think about time?

• What are your assumptions about how God views time? Why do you think God made us as creatures who are limited by time and capacity?

• What is your sense of how Jesus viewed time? Support your answer with examples from scripture. How does this compare with how you view time?

Quote Interaction (Interact by agreeing, disagreeing or otherwise engaging with the quote/quotes)

• “How you spend your days is, of course, how you spend your life.” (Annie Dillard)

• “Think about people who find themselves in religious ruts. They discover a number of things about themselves. They will find that they are getting older but not getting any holier. Time is their enemy, not their friend. The time they trusted and looked to is betraying them, for they often said to themselves, ‘The passing of time will help me. I know some good old saints, so as I get older I'll get holier and better. Time will help me, purify me and revive me.’ They said that the year before last, but they were not helped any last year. Time betrayed them. They were not any better last year than they had been the year before.”  (A. W. Tozer)

• “Jesus didn’t do it all. Jesus didn’t meet every need. He left people waiting in line to be healed. He left one town to preach to another. He hid away to pray. He got tired. He never interacted with the vast majority of people on the planet. He spent thirty years in training and only three years in ministry. He did not try to do it all. And yet, He did everything God asked Him to do….You can borrow time, but you can’t steal it... And the longer you try to borrow against sleep, the more your body (or God) will force you to pay for those hours – plus interest.” (Kevin DeYoung in Crazy Busy)

Reading & Reflection from the book, Shaping The Journey of Emerging Adults: 

• Read Megan’s email in the book’s introduction (pp. 13-15). She has a particular view of the times we are in as it relates to the church and her generation.  Do you agree with her? What is your view of the “times” we are in?

• Read Chapter One, “The Complex World of Early Adulthood” (pp. 23-41). There are many facets of the way emerging adults view this time in their life.  As you think of this time in your life, which aspects of this description of young adulthood affect the way you think of or choose to approach this season?

• Read about AJ, Chantal and Jin (pp. 143-146).  What can you relate to in their stories?  How do you view this time of your life relationally?  Are there things you want to have accomplished relationally by a certain period of time in your life?

• Read about Krista, Chuck and Sarita (pp. 190-191). What can you relate to in their stories?  How do you view this time of your life with regard to what you are accomplishing?  Are there things you want to have experienced by a certain time in your life?

• Read “Time Constraints and Technology” and “Everyday Priorities” (pp. 193-195). How do you think about the way technology squeezes your time? Is it worth it? Not worth it? Somewhere in between?  What technology tends to affect your ability to pursue priorities negatively?  Positively?

• MENTOR: Read “Negotiating the Squeeze of Time” (pp. 212-214).  What stands out to you from this section. Compare the time crunch you may feel to the time constraints felt by young adults? What is different? If you can’t figure it out, compare notes with your young adult.