The Wondering Sheep: Episode 17 – Living the Christian Life
"Is It Friday Yet?"
April 6, 2026
I was listening to the radio (online) this morning and the host started his broadcast day with this, “Thursday already? How can it be Thursday already?”
His on-air day starts at 6 AM and ends at 9. He gets to the station for his show prep around 3:30. I can understand why he at times loses what day it is. How about you? Does your work/life get in the way of what the world calls “normal” sleep?
During college, I was normally awake till 11:30 PM and up to start my day about 5:45 AM. You see, I had to get in a real breakfast around 6:15 so I could be in the practice room by 6:40 to get an hour of prep in before the academic day began. I had to find another hour to get in percussion practice session when I was free, and the rehearsal wasn’t being used by one of the bands. The evening hours were filled with homework (we usually averaged 4 hours of study/work for each hour in class). That’s what they told us in orientation we should plan on (we laughed), and for most classes that time level worked. In some cases, it was an hour or more too low. Being a music major with two instruments to practice and 2-3 performing groups to perform with, along with musicals to play for and college life to live… sleep was not a priority.
The life of a music ed major is not for the weak of heart. How about the life of a music teacher? The last 5 or so years I taught, I was at school before 6:30 AM, teaching/rehearsing by 7:00, and the normal teaching day started at 8:00. When the last period ended, I worked with individuals until 4:15. I then headed downtown to teach private lessons for 3 hours each weekday at the violin shop and then filled the evenings with rehearsals of the FM Symphony, the Opera, or the school musicals. In the summer I worked for Trollwood Performing Arts School as production orchestra director. That meant I rewrote the show for the students involved, rehearsed for a month and a half then filled time with up to 15 performances. The summer usually ended with a week-long orchestra camp. Teachers take summer off? Nope!
How have you arranged your schedules over your life? Did you notice what was not on any of those schedules? Church. I left them off. College? Usually at a local church on Sunday, student led student Bible Studies, and usually I found ways to study scripture on an irregular schedule. During my teaching career? Of the five churches we belonged to, I was on the council for 4 of them. Taught Bible studies, Sunday School, and ran VBS. At SOTV, all of those were done plus teaching confirmation and teaching adult level Bible studies. How did I fit that fit into my “calm” schedule? It was a priority.
What are your priorities? What you do is observed by your kids and those around you. Being in church and serving God’s church is a priority for a Christians. We will not all be called pastors or teachers. But we are called to serve God and His church. That’s why he gave each of us all the different gifts that He gave each of us. It is one of our greatest ways we can witness. Investing in your faith is, in fact, much more important than most other things we fill our time with: entertainment sports, extra sleep, trying to earn worldly status, and so on. Again, what our families observe goes a long way toward what they will do. Your schedules are busy, sometimes, way too busy. How much of what you focus on is actually needed? How much are you trying to get ahead? Some stuff we do is great fun and worthwhile, but... what was Jesus words to Martha? “One thing is needful…” Jesus gives us the answer. Be busy, but not too busy to serve the person who died on the cross for your sins.