remember the decisions you make determine the schedule you keep. The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.

While my heart wants to say yes, the reality of my time makes this a no." I've learned the best "no" answers are graciously honest.

Today's choices become tomorrow's circumstances.

Imagine this opportunity as an amazingly attractive but fast-moving river. There is so much that looks extremely appealing about this river, you're going to be tempted to jump right in. But once you are in the river, you have diminished your ability to make decisions. That river is moving so fast that it will take you where it is going. And if you haven't carefully traced out in advance whether you want to go through and to the places that river flows, you'll be in trouble.

Remember that everything that happens to you is first filtered through God's hand. Interruptions can become opportunities. What you might see as distractions God might see as divine appointments. Things may happen that seem so haphazard and distracting to our agenda, but with a fresh dose of perspective, they can turn into precious moments.

Believing God has purposed our days will save us from the trouble of stepping into plans that aren't meant for us.

Our decisions aren't just isolated choices. Our decisions point our lives in the directions we're about to head. Show me a decision and I'll show you a direction.

Making art provides uncomfortably accurate feedback about the gap that inevitably exists between what you intended to do, and what you did.

What were the unrealistic expectations I had, and how can I better manage these next time?

Here's the bottom line. Good decisions will often have elements of not so good. And not-so-good decisions have elements of good. Either way, if I'm hoping to be able to know the perfect choice and then move forward with certainty, I'll probably not move forward. Here's where the certainty is: My imperfections will never override God's promises. God's promises are not dependent on my ability to always choose well, but rather on His ability to use well.

Please see how dangerous this assumption was. She got alone with her own thoughts and assumptions. And it led her to doubt God. And take control to get what she wanted. What she thought was best.

The schedule you keep determines the life you live. And how you live your life determines how you spend your soul.