I got an e-mail from a friend reminding me that each day – our time– really does count. Knowing my great love for music, she quoted Dinah Washington’s great jazz standard, “What A Difference a Day Makes.” This simple statement prompted me to reflect on how I use my time.

Immediately, the portion of the membership vows that raise the question, “Will you be faithful to United Methodist Church through your prayers, your presence, your gifts, your service and your witness?” came to mind. Each of these promises requires our time.

Do you remember making that commitment? Are you willing to recommit yourself to these vows? Is it time to renew it? So again, as we look at our calendars before us, the question is – what do with our time?

Think about these four questions as an individual. Also, let’s think about them as a servant-leader community gathered around God’s table as youth leaders.

1. Do you set aside time each day for speaking and listening to God? Do you keep this appointment?

2. Do you make worship and studying God’s Word as part of the faith community a top priority?

3. Do you make our gifts, talents, witness and money available for ministry?

4. Will you do anything outside the walls of the church building that will show that we are Disciples of Christ?

Time is a precious. Time is a treasure. Time must be used wisely. What difference will your day make?

United Methodist Elizabeth Edwards answered it best. She wrote this on her Facebook page a few days before her death.

“The days of our lives, for all of us, are numbered. We know that. And yes, there are certainly times when we aren’t able to muster as much strength and patience as we would like. It’s called being human. But I have found that in the simple act of living with hope, and in the daily effort to have a positive impact in the world, the days I do have are made all the more meaningful and precious. And for that I am grateful.”

And finally, a poem I learned almost 20 years ago:

God’s Minute
I’ve only just a minute,
Only sixty seconds in it.
Forced upon me, can’t refuse it,
Didn’t seek it, didn’t choose it,
But it’s up to me to use it.
I must suffer if I lose it,
Give an account if I abuse it
Just a tiny little minute,
But eternity is in it.
– Dr. Benjamin E. Mays

Time is a precious. Time is a treasure. Time must be used wisely. What difference will your day make?