I don't do this very often -- in fact, this might be a first -- but I'm inviting you to join our church for a live-stream worship this coming Sunday, or at least to watch the message at some point next week.

I'm taking this step because I think the message will be particularly helpful for many of you in this list. I'll be talking about the extreme ethic in the teaching of Jesus. This ethic is not simply about loving our friends, but even loving our enemies. This ethic is not only about forgiving people when they're sorry, and ask for forgiveness ... but forgiving everybody.

The key issue I'll be emphasizing is this: We practice this NOT because these people who've hurt us need or deserve it ... but rather because WE need it. It changes us. It heals us.

I know that's not new news :-)  If you've been in churches before, you've likely heard that message. 

But in the message I'll be sharing a process -- a practice -- you can engage in to actually DO that hard work.

Our service starts live-streaming at 9:30am central time on Sunday morning. The sermon usually starts around 20 to 25 minutes into the service.

“Most people have no clue what they are doing with their time, but still complain that they don’t have enough of it.” -Grant Cardone

A few years ago I ran across an article with this headline, and I've been thinking about the idea ever since. It's powerful stuff, but let me warn you: it's really hard to apply. The thought experiment goes like this:

What would you do differently if you understood that your time was worth $1000 an hour? 

Here's the crazy thing we don't often realize: it is! 

If you don't believe that, just ask anyone who realizes they are at the end of their lives. Many people in palliative care deal with deep regret over time lost and wasted. Like one of the characters in Victoria Aveyard's novel "Glass Sword," their lament is: 

"If only we had more time. 

One more week, 

or even one more day."

First off, let's get this out of the way ... 

I can hear it right now: "If my time was worth $1000 an hour, I'd never wash dishes, mow the lawn, fix a faucet, or any other mundane work again! I'd just hire other people to do it."

Yes of course. And who knows, depending how much money you make, and what you really enjoy -- and hate -- doing, maybe you should do just that. 

But for many of us, that's not possible. Even though our time is worth $1000 an hour, we are not earning $1000 an hour. So we can't afford to hire everything out that we don't like doing. 

Now We Get to the Important Part

But let's not just give up the thought exercise right away. Really, this question challenges us to think about what we do with the time we DO have available ... even after our "chores" are done. 

What do we do with the time use choices that we can control? Once again, I want to emphasize: Most of us have a lot more control over a lot more of our time than we realize.

In doing the research for my book "Leaving Your Mark Without Losing Your Mind," I came across reports from time use experts that changed the way I look at my own life, and the lives of people around me. 

Even though it's common to complain about how "busy" we are, and to feel that we're over-committed and over-scheduled ... the reality is that we have more free time today than people did in the past.

I'm guessing you don't believe me. Check out results of research here, and this short article from Laura Vanderkam, who wrote the great book 168 Hours, where she talks about this in more depth.

Okay ... so on to the most important part of this exercise:

With whatever discretionary time you have available to you, and as you make choices about what volunteer tasks, and commitments you take on ... how do you feel about these choices? Are you living FULL OUT?

In the article that inspired this piece, Anthony Moore writes the following:

What if you placed a high value on your time? How would that change you? Your life? Your family? Your future? Imagine that an hour of your time is worth $1,000...

• What would your life look like?
• What people would you stop putting up with?
• What problems would you stop wasting time on?
• What things would you stop — and start — doing?

If we really, truly, got this -- if we grasped how valuable and irreplaceable our time is -- I think three things would happen:

1. If we really, truly "got this," we would pay MUCH greater attention to what we do in our free time. 

I believe that the problem today for most people is not that they don't have enough time, it's that they fill up the free time they have with passive media consumption, which makes them feel less energized and happy, and more stressed. On top of this, they're often multi-tasking, and immersing themselves in environments with always-on media that also leaves them less energized and more stressed.