Purpose Archives - Kristin Saatzer

Make the Most of Your Time

September 12, 2023 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

“Be careful how you walk, not as unwise people but as wise. Making the most of your time because the days are evil. So then do not be foolish but understand what the will of the Lord is.”

Eph 5:15-17

Tears escaped as I sat down on a curb on a busy street. Yes, I looked pretty foolish.

As I walked around my neighborhood, a sermon played in my headphones. It was a season of confusion as I wrestled with some decisions regarding time commitments. I felt like I was wasting too much time on things that didn’t matter; I wanted my priorities to be God’s priorities. So, when I heard the pastor read this passage of scripture from Ephesians 5, I dropped in the middle of the sidewalk, sat on the curb, rewound this section of the sermon, and listened to these words on repeat.

It seemed God wanted me to hear these verses on that day. I fell in love with these words of wisdom and committed them to memory soon after.

The apostle Paul was writing to the church in Ephesus, encouraging the people he loved dearly to live with intention, live a life that honors God and follow Christ’s example. His writing reflects a sense of urgency because of the morally evil times in which they were living.

These words apply to us today.

Be careful how you walk, Paul says first. Walk as a wise person would. Think about how you are spending the majority of your time. How is it honoring God? How is it not?

Next, he says to make the most of our time because the days are evil. We can look around our culture and see how dark it seems, as did Paul in his day. So, how do you make the most of your time, practically speaking? What are your priorities in these dark days? Are you shining God’s light? What time wasters can you shed?

Lastly, Paul admonishes us not to be foolish but to understand the will of God. I believe the general will of God is simply reading His word each day, loving Him and others, and sharing His message. So, how does that look in your life?

Yes, we need rest and fun, and that is all good. But to truly live a life of purpose takes evaluation and time, time feasting on God’s word. And living with intention motivates us, focusing us on what matters most—enabling us to drop what isn’t best and to tackle our priorities.

And when we do this, we have more time.

After I got off that hard curb, I brushed away the tears and slowly began to live with focused intention. This passage became the theme scripture of my life and has guided me over the years as I seek to live on purpose for God’s purposes.

I pray this beloved passage will do the same for you.

Fill My Christmas Plate With People, Please!

November 30, 2022 By Kristin Saatzer 4 Comments

On Christmas Eve of 2020, we ate take-out Chinese and watched an online church service, desperately missing our extended family and our special holiday traditions together. Later, on that oh-so-strange night, I lay on the couch, tears falling, and told myself that I would never again take family and friends for granted. Or crowds, live church, in-person shopping, or in-person anything! Shoulder to shoulder, face to face, hand to hand. People.

These last few years have changed all of us.

In the curriculum called the Covid Years, I’ve learned an old lesson in a new way: relationships are vital. We all know this. And I’ve always felt this as fact but wow, was it drilled down in those weird times. I vowed then to intentionally make my loved-ones and Jesus my focus each holiday. Despite the oddness and sadness, there was a beautiful unfussiness in the 2020 holiday and life seemed slower.

Yes, responsibilities are important and necessary, and during the holidays, many of us juggle more than our typical load. So often, I struggle to get it all done while remaining present. There is a boost in my self-esteem, a feeling of value that surges when I am uber-productive. I’m addicted to checking things off my list to the detriment of my relationships. I love people, and I love God, but if I’m not careful, I’m swept up in my typical seasonal trap. Yes, most items on my list are others-focused (buying gifts, charitable giving, baking, cooking, house tasks, etc.) But I want (and need) to connect deeply in my relationships at Christmas.

Perhaps a bit of Patty (or Paul) Productivity lives in you as well?Continue Reading

20 for 20!

January 1, 2020 By Kristin Saatzer Leave a Comment

Can we talk about 2020?

Because it thrills me to have a blank slate with endless possibilities before me, I jotted down 20 ideas for 2020. Take as many as you’d like and leave the rest.

20 for 2020

read 20 books of the Bible
plan 20 fun adventures
pick 20 people to pray for – bonus points if they have hurt you or get on your nerves
try 20 new foods or recipes
save $20 a month towards your dream trip – gotta start somewhere
pick 20 books to read and set aside 20 extra minutes a day to read them
exercise 20 days in a row for 20 minutes – start a workout streak
watch 20 sunsets
take 20 minutes to think about what you know about yourself and God that you didn’t know a year ago
give $20 more a month than you already do
get together with or call an old friend that you’ve known for 20 years or more
spend 20 minutes each morning in 2020 in a quiet space with God and His word
take a 20 day fast from social media (gulp!)
send notes to 20 people who have positively impacted your life and thank them for doing so
donate 20 clothing or household items ( in good shape) to charity
print out 20 of your most joy-filled photos from the past decade and put them in an album
set a timer for 20 minutes and deep-clean a dreaded messy area in your home or office
spend 20 minutes a day in 2020 in the fresh, screen-less air
say NO to sugar and white flour for 20 days
write down (at least) 20 things you are grateful for

#LIVEONPURPOSE!

Fight for It!

July 29, 2019 By Kristin Saatzer 10 Comments

What was her name?

This woman who fought for it?

For her to touch anyone was prohibited. She was considered unclean in her culture because of her sickness. She had used all her money visiting healers who offered no cure for the condition that consumed her for twelve years. Even still, she possessed a tenacious faith.

For she said within herself, if I may but touch His garment, I shall be whole.

Matthew 9:21 Webster’s Bible Translation

The garment she wanted to touch belonged to Jesus Christ. Jewish men of His day wore cloaks with a required blue-tassel hem to remind them of the Torah (the law of God) and that they were God’s people. As an animated throng swarmed around the Savior, this woman pushed past her fears and cultural laws and grasped the hem of the healer.

And healed she was.

I see echoes of myself in this woman (how I wish we knew her name). My journey, strewn with one painful, draining condition to the next. And not all physical. There is a slew of emotional afflictions painted on my life’s canvas.
This painting of pain began early. Dark shadows trail in my mind of cruelties delivered to a little-girl-me by one I loved dearly. I recall abuses from my kindergarten teacher, like the day she wrenched my arm and dragged me out of a bathroom stall as she uttered nasty words. As I retrace these moments and many more, my heart feels the feels all over again. Oh, how grateful I am that the paintbrush rendered many cheerful colors along the way, but the blacks and grays are consistent in the mix. At times, I felt downright wrecked, as if my soul was broken.

Wreckage is a repercussion of pain. The damage is incalculable, the fallout overwhelming. It can hit us like a truck and leave us bleeding on the pavement with no oomph to seek help, and without the desire to get well. The wreckage in my life showed in different forms: depression, low self-worth, loneliness, emptiness, fear, nightmares, bad decisions, and the list goes on.

But God

My God has shown me beauty in my broken.

You see when we flip the fall-out and allow ourselves to view our brokenness with a changed lens, our perspective shifts as we discover the fingers of God holding the paintbrush. This requires a tenacious faith, as the woman in Matthew 9 displays. Such a daring move by this long-suffering believer. This fighter.

We too must fight to be whole.Continue Reading