525,600

525,600.

Why is that number important?

No, it's not the number of miles from earth to the moon. (382,500 km is the average distance.)

No, it's not the number of hairs on your head. (170,000 if you're a redhead, 185,000 if you're blond, and 200,000 if you're brunette or black-haired.)

No, it's not the number of insults that Calvinists have used for non-Calvinists. (That number is actually a little higher.)

If you've seen the musical Rent, you know the answer, because it's in its theme song.

It's the number of minutes that each of us have to live each year.

It's funny, because we as humans are so good at focusing on the broad picture. On January 1, we make our New Year resolutions, hoping that we will be able to change a certain part of our behavior/lifestyle by the end of the year. We fail.

It makes me wonder - instead of making yearly resolutions that are going to only make us frustrated and cause us to feel defeated, why don't we make minute resolutions?

"I resolve to change my behavior this minute."

That has a good ring to it, doesn't it?

Someone once said, "The quality of a godly life does not depend on its number of great happenings or big actions but on what happens in it one small moment after another. The soul is made up of an awful lot of moments and a lot of awful moments." There are some things we need to do if we are truly going to live moment by moment, minute by minute, hour by hour, day by day, week by week, month by month, and year by year in such a way that will honor God and work towards our goal of becoming like Christ.

(1) Magnetize Your Moments.

Make each moment holy, an offering to God. Someone said, "To make a moment is not to manufacture a moment or concoct a split-second spirituality. It is rather to identify a moment in such a way that it can become a consicous moment, an enjoyed moment, and an enduring moment that redounds to the glory of God." When a moment is magnetized by the Holy Spirit, it becomes whole, holy and eternal.

There are so many discoveries to be made in life. Use each moment to discover.

(2) Landmark Your Moments.

This is what I like to call "milepost your life". Mileposts are signs on the highway that tell you where you're at, where you've been, and where you're going. When you have a moment in your life, whether good or bad, that's worth remembering, landmark it. There is one day in your life that will be your best day. There will also be one day in your life that will be your worst day. Landmark both. You may change both down the road as well. It's good to have these mileposts in your life, because it reminds you of God's faithfulness in the good times, and it reminds you of your dependency on God in the bad times.

(3) Live Your Moments.

"So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God." I love that verse. It reminds me that even in the mundane moments of life, i.e. eating and drinking, there is still an opportunity to glorify God.

So stop seizing the day or seizing the year.

Seize the moment - all 31,536,000 of them each year!

"How we spend our days is - of course - how we spend our lives."
Annie Dillard