I’m taking 65 men of the Vineyard on a 24-hour retreat this weekend. From talking with some of the men, quite a few of them feel just like the guy in this picture. They have very little margin in their life. And you know what happens when you have no margin? You can’t make any mistakes, or you may crash and burn.
Does everyday have to be so filled that you have no time to read the Bible, no time to sit and talk with your spouse, and no time to exercise? I certainly hope not, and yet I see it happen in my life and in the lives of those I love. “Good night,” I ask myself, “How in the world does this happen? Do I think I’m God? Do I think I can do everything that comes along?”
Imagine someone putting this on your headstone: He lived a full but stressful life?
Pray for me that I’ll have time for God, time for my family and even time to goof. On the days when I have little or no margin, I start to feel resentful, and I hate being that way.
My favorite writer Annie Dillard once wrote: “How we spend our days is how we spend our lives.” If our days are full of stress and tension, then so are our lives.
May God give us the courage to build in some margin in our lives — even if that means saying “NO” to something “very important to do.”
donfollis.com 
I know that this weekend will be empowering for many of us men. Every once in a while, we just need a break from this world and time to relax with the guys. Its hard for me to focus on God all the time because my mind is often racing over when my next exam is and how much time I have to study…and oh, so much more. But I know that staying in this fight is what I want to do.
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I totally agree. I teach at a year-round school and I get 3 weeks off in the fall and in the spring. I am on break right now actually. It seems like all I do during this time is catch up on the stuff i have to do around the house. If I am not doing anything, I feel guilty about. It is funny, because I can remember when I was younger and my dad would go on vacation from work and all he would do during that time is work around the house also! Amazing what we pick up from our parents. But I just feel like I have no time for myself because I have all these "projects" that I need to get done while I have a chance. I am looking forward to the retreat just to get away from the craziness for 24 hours!
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Man… can I relate to little or no margin. Lately, my life feels like its always on the edge of exploding. Like my arms just arent big enough to get around all the things I have to do in a day. I keep having this thought in my mind that it will only be this way for another week or two and those couple of weeks just keep going on and on and on. They've somehow turned into months and months. For crying out loud, I am already feeling guilty about the things I wont get done or how much I'll have to do on Sunday and Monday to make up for taking this Friday night and Saturday "off" to go on a much needed retreat! How do you guys do it? Does anyone feel like they have a healthy balance in their lives? I'm not even sure I would recognize it if I saw it! Well…gotta run, so much to do………..
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