I think I’ve asked and answered this question before, but I think fear of failure or of having unrealistic expectations has held me up in the past from continuing this path of “the perfect day.”
So, I’m going to look at it again, especially since it relates to what I’ve learned from the Inner Gold program about creating a daily accountability chart.
| 5:45 a.m. | Wake Up |
| 5:50 a.m. | Study the Scriptures, Step Work & Journal |
| 6:20 a.m. | Exercise (basketball, treadmill, P90X, etc.) |
| 7:45 a.m. | Clean up, shower, shave, get dressed |
| 8:00 a.m. | Breakfast with family |
| 8:30 a.m. | Review notes, goals, daily duties – meditate for 5 minutes |
| 8:45 a.m. | Start the work day! |
| 9:00 a.m. | Make 5 new contacts for sales |
| 9:30 a.m. | Create new bids for contacts – send information to new contacts |
| 10:00 a.m. | Meeting time / Fulfillment time |
| 12:00 p.m. | Lunch |
| 1:00 p.m. | Meeting time / Fulfillment time |
| 4:00 p.m. | Review email & reply |
| 5:00 p.m. | End work day |
I talked to Becky about this and she had a good suggestion too: write down 3-4 things you really want to do everyday and then decide how you’re going to fit those in the next day by reviewing your schedule the night before.
This idea is a good one since each day is a little bit different for me.
So, if I were going to do that, I’d say these are the most important things I’d want to fit in my schedule:
- Read scriptures, work on step work, write in journal
- Exercise at least 15 minutes per day
- Contact at least 5 new clients for potential business
I’ll start with number 1 right now and then work on the others as I can make time.
The Study of the New Testament
This is an interesting topic, especially because it’s what we are studying in Sunday School this year. I’m reading an article right now titled “Study New Testament to Grow More Like the Savior, Leaders Say.”
In the article they encourage us to study the Sunday School lesson throughout the week so we’ll have feedback to contribute to the lesson on Sunday.
This scripture is also shared:
16 Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me.
17 If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. John 7:16-17
I like this scripture: doing the will of the Father will help me know and feel that the doctrine is correct and true. Doing the will of the Father testifies of the Son too.
I like this scripture too:
24 Judge not according to the appearance, but judge righteous judgment.
From this scripture, I feel it’s ok to “judge righteous judgment” but I’m not really sure what that means. I looked at the footnote regarding judgment and this is one scripture I found:
7 But the Lord said unto Samuel, Look not on his countenance, or on the height of his stature; because I have refused him: for the Lord seeth not as man seeth; for man looketh on the outward appearance, but the Lord looketh on the heart. 1 Sam. 16:7
Here’s another one:
5 Evil men understand not judgment: but they that seek the Lord understand all things. Prov. 28:5
I’m not sure what this one means but I think I have an idea:
12 ¶Shall horses run upon the rock? will one plow there with oxen? for ye have turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock: Amos 6:12
Here’s another:
2 For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. Matt. 7:2
And this one:
18 And now, my brethren, seeing that ye know the light by which ye may judge, which light is the light of Christ, see that ye do not judge wrongfully; for with that same judgment which ye judge ye shall also be judged. Moroni 7:18
What do I get from these scriptures?
Judgement is a tricky topic. Are we to judge or are we not? From these scriptures I get that we are to judge righteous judgement. We are to look upon the heart of a person; we are to be aware of our surroundings and use the gift of discernment to decide what is the will of God and what is the will of men.
But in our judgment, we need to be merciful and realize that the same judgement we pass on to others will be passed on to us.
Amos 6:12, to me, says that those who feel judgement is a bad and terrible thing have “…turned judgment into gall, and the fruit of righteousness into hemlock.” I think of this as justification for wrong deeds.
I know, when I was in my addiction and acting out, I didn’t want the opinion of Becky – I didn’t want to hear her say things like “I was past feeling.” Why didn’t I want to hear these things? Because I was doing wickedly and didn’t want to hear the truth.
54 ¶When they heard these things, they were acut to the heart, and they gnashed on him with their teeth. (Acts 7:54)
This is where I’ve been:
1 And now it came to pass that after I, Nephi, had made an end of speaking to my brethren, behold they said unto me: Thou hast declared unto us hard things, more than we are able to bear.
2 And it came to pass that I said unto them that I knew that I had spoken hard things against the wicked, according to the truth; and the righteous have I justified, and testified that they should be lifted up at the last day; wherefore, the guilty taketh the truth to be hard, for it cutteth them to the very center.
3 And now my brethren, if ye were righteous and were willing to hearken to the truth, and give heed unto it, that ye might walk uprightly before God, then ye would not murmur because of the truth, and say: Thou speakest hard things against us.
4 And it came to pass that I, Nephi, did exhort my brethren, with all diligence, to keep the commandments of the Lord. (1 Nephi 16:1-4, emphasis added)
Was Nephi judging in this situation? I would say yes, he was judging and calling his brothers to repentance. Did they like it? Of course not, they took it to be hard.
If I’m open and honest with myself, I will judge myself and be aware of my own actions, thus causing me to want to make changes. Then, if others point those things out as well, I won’t take them to be hard because I will agree that what I’m doing, or what I’ve done, is not according to the will of God.
Just like the first scripture I read said, “If any man will do [God’s] will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself.”
Yesterday I had this very experience – we were playing a board game and I saw one of the pieces, which would help me get higher points, so I took it. I felt sick to my stomach right away.
After the game, I went downstairs with Becky to put Jayden down to bed and wanted to tell her right away what had happened. It felt so good to get that secret out. I didn’t want to cheat or lie – I wanted to be honest and true.
As I talked to her about it, I felt so much better; where in the past, I wouldn’t have thought much of it at all and would have been defensive if someone would have accused me of cheating or being a bad sport.
I do feel that judgement and accountability are part of the gospel of Jesus Christ. I do feel I need to judge righteous judgment, both on myself and on others, especially if those “others” are doing things that will potentially put me or my family in danger of committing similar sins.
However, it’s not my place to go around and point out all the things that are wrong with people, especially if the only reason I’m doing it is so I feel “right” and delight in pointing out that they are “wrong.” I feel this is truly one of my character weaknesses.
I’m grateful for my study today. I’m grateful that I get to go through Step 5 tonight with my sponsor. I’m grateful to have talked with Becky about mapping out my day and setting goals that I can achieve.
I look forward to a day of recovery and submission.
Hasta luego!
Nate
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