Monday, 07 September 2009
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4 Ways to Redeem the Wasted Time in Your Commute
by Clayton King
I spend more time in the care than most people by virtue of my calling as an evangelist, and I cringe when I think about how much time I have wasted listening to the radio, dayreaming, flipping stations, or enduring obnoxious adds and commercials. Now, I redeem my commute, wherever I may be heading. Yesterday I spent 3 hours in the car driving to Asheville, NC to record sermon clips to be aired on the radio at 106.9 The Light (WMIT). In about 15 minutes, I am heading to my hometown of Ft. Inn, SC to visit my family. Tomorrow I will be in the car for over 4 hours as I drive to Clemson University to preach for 3,000 college students at FCA. The hours pile up pretty fast.Here is how I redeem my time in the car. Maybe these will work for you. Give them a try.
- Phone Calls - I try not to talk on the phone while I am home with my family. It is rude, I end up ignoring them, they feel the phone is more important, and blur the lines between work and family. Of course I do make calls occasionally from home, but I try to catch up on most of them in the car. I keep a running handwritten list of people I need to call back and do it while driving (safely, I might add, using headphones…most of the time).
- Podcasts - iTunes may be one of the greatest gift a preacher like me has ever been given. I have hundreds of sermons on my iPod and never listen to music (except when running or lifting) because I have too many sermon options. I can listen to 2 Ravi Zacharias sermons or 1 Mark Driscoll sermon on a trip the Charlotte airport. Whether it’s Craig Groeschel or Matt Orth or Steven Furtick or Rico Tice, I am filling my mind and heart with the word of God and am also being convicted by the Holy Spirit as these men help me redeem my steering wheel time.
- Prayer - What better time to pray than when there is nobody around, no internet, no distractions, and no kids? I pray out loud. It helps my mind not to wander, it helps me focus, and it gives me the sense that I really am having a conversation with God when I hear my self call His name, ask for provision, and thank Him for His goodness.
- Singing - If you ever pass me (or more correctly if I ever pass you), there is a good chance you will see me with my head thrown back and my mouth wide open singing at the top of my lungs. Somtetimes I sing with a CD or my iPod, but usually it’s a medley of my personal faves; old hymns and new choruses. There’s the occasional foray into country or 80’s rock (yesterday I kept singing “I Told You So” by Randy Travis for some reason), but there is nothing that gets my heart oriented correctly or my mind prepared for an event like worshipping God alone in the car on the way.
I hope this helps you win back some time that you have to expend anyway…make those moments count for Christ.
- Phone Calls - I try not to talk on the phone while I am home with my family. It is rude, I end up ignoring them, they feel the phone is more important, and blur the lines between work and family. Of course I do make calls occasionally from home, but I try to catch up on most of them in the car. I keep a running handwritten list of people I need to call back and do it while driving (safely, I might add, using headphones…most of the time).
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Comments (15)
Good options. I listen to Michael Ramsden (a guy on the RZIM staff, who I kinda like more than Ravi) on my mp3 as i'm on the bus to school. it's good to fill your head with the right stuff when you have time to kill.
The others are all fine if that's what you want to do, but talking on the phone? Seriously?
Yeah, I mean its one thing if you have to make a couple of calls, but designating driving time as phone time? Please tell me what roads you take so that I never get anywhere near you. Headphones or not, turning your car into a call center just doesn't sound so hot..
Please tell me you're a real careful driver....I mean talking on the phone while you're driving?? Even if you're using headphones, your concentration isn't on the road.
and listening to music on the radio isn't a time waster..
Modern people must always guard against allowing their lives to become interminable to-do lists.
It takes nothing to be happy. Happiness is our natural state. For the driven person, maybe having long periods of nothing is just the thing in order to zero in on happiness.
You're not really wasting your time on your commute, you're getting somewhere to do something; are you not?
Around here you can get a ticket if you talk on the phone or text while driving (hands-free devices are legal but still discouraged). Statistically, texting while driving is as bad or worse than driving drunk.
The other three sound fun.
Because paying attention to the road isn't all that important anyway.
If you carpool, you could totally do a drive-by
I'm with most people here. On the phone while driving is rather reckless.
Here in the uk they passed a law against it. Its a bit of a weird law since it basically says if you appear not to be in full control of the vehicle (i.e. on the phone) then you can get pulled over by the cops. This kinda includes listening to an iPod (with ear phones) or (very very ) loud music, even looking down to fiddle with the radio.Its a bit extreme but then causing an accident is also rather extreme. Even if your on a bluetooth headset making the call, your attention isn't fully on the road.Points 2 - 4 i'd somewhat agree with, just so long as you don't get too distracted from the task at hand.
That's what I do too... I talk to God in the car, and I sing along to praise and worship music.
I do all of these things. That's why I love driving.
You forgot to include tweeting though!
um. as others have pointed out already, talking on the phone while driving, even with a headset, is NOT safe. thanks for endangering all of us so you can feel good about your evangelism.
i agree! I just drove 4 hours the other day (and am going back tonight) and I can't wait. I have had such great encounters with God while driving- driving is a great time for intercessory prayer, and is such a good time to I listen to sermons. podcasts rock, i agree. love this post!
I go to Clemson haha! But I am not a member of FCA...