my new to-do list

(This was originally posted February 18, 2009. so, the to-do list was new back then, but over 2 years old now...)

It's not all that new. It became my to-do list in October... so, over 4 months now. It's pretty simple & it's the same every day.

1 love God
2 love Crystal
3 live the Mission

That's my to-do list. I wrote this in my journal the day in October when God gave me this to-do list = "what freakin' else is there to do!?!??? Seriously, what else matters? What else is there to do with my life? I've gotta spend 95% of my time in life doing these 3 things... help me do that, Jesus!"
(oh, and Crystal is my wife... for those of you who don't know.)

If we're honest, most of us just waste a lot of time! I'm committed not to do that anymore. If it's not one of these 3 things... I'm NOT doing it!

Obviously my #3 "live the Mission" has the potential to be very broad. So that's the trick for me - I'm narrowing it down based on my "chazown"/specific vision for my life's mission. I summed up the mission that day in my journal with 3 words = "glory, love, justice." It's going to include even more than those 3 though... (Loving people is a HUGE part of the Mission and we could all be more consumed with that. If "loving people" would have been 3rd on my to-do list then it would have been 3 "loves", but I'm confident the Mission is more than only that. Although, if we all just did that we'd be WAY better off than we are now.)

I'm still learning as I'm only 4 months into this new to-do list. Of course the cool part is I never really have to make a new to-do list... I'll never complete these projects, although I hope to succeed at each of them every single day.
I still go to "chick flicks" with my wife because that's part of #2... that's part of loving her. I still like to sit on the porch swing & chill watching the sun set while talking to God... that's part of #1 loving God for me. I'm still going to do extra jobs so I can give money to the poor & to spreading God's fame because that's part of #3 the Mission. I'm still gonna have fun and live in community and hang out watching sports with unbelievers because it's all part of the Mission. I'm still gonna work out some (not a lot - a few days a week) because I don't know if I can love God, love my wife, or live the Mission quite as effectively if I drop dead or get really fat. :)

This has definitely become my filter for everything I do now. I definitely turn down lots of stuff & I say "no" a lot because things aren't on my to-do list. It feels really good too!
It's still a work in progress, but I'm definitely diggin' it so far!

(What's on YOUR to-do list?)