God gave us each time to spend on earth. It is a gift to use freely. As with God’s other gifts, though, we are asked to give back some of our time for God’s purposes. As you flip your calendar – print or electronic – from 2013 to 2014 this week, consider it an opportunity to reflect on your faithful stewardship of time. Look back over 2013: Do the activities and events filling those squares show you using the time well?

Turning to 2014, consider the mostly empty squares before you. How will you make time for personal faith development and doing God’s work in the coming year? How can you improve over the last year? For example, will times for worship, small-group faith development, and conversation (prayer) with God take priority? How will opportunities for service in the local church or wider community fit in your routine?

Use your 2014 calendar to plan how you will allocate God’s gift of time wisely.