{"id":1130,"date":"2014-07-30T05:36:03","date_gmt":"2014-07-30T12:36:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/?p=1130"},"modified":"2014-08-04T06:32:52","modified_gmt":"2014-08-04T13:32:52","slug":"living-in-the-spontaneous","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/living-in-the-spontaneous\/","title":{"rendered":"Are You Too Busy?"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Calendar_0\"<\/a><\/p>\n

If you\u2019re like my wife and I, there are events on your family calendar to which you have committed. It includes date nights, birthday parties, weddings, etc. Personally, while I see the value of these planned events, I appreciate a calendar that isn\u2019t overwhelmingly full and has capacity for down time. This capacity creates space for spontaneity.<\/p>\n

One of my favorite events are ones that never appear on my calendar. I LOVE IT when someone will text and say, \u201cDo you guys want to meet tonight at ______?\u201d What are you doing in the next couple of hours? Do you want to meet our family for yogurt?<\/em> I find spontaneous events to be natural, fun, and low stress.<\/p>\n

I recently heard that term spontaneous in a different context \u2014 spontaneous ministry, and it has had me thinking. Some of the most natural, fun, and low stress ministry opportunities are those that happen naturally. <\/strong>You don\u2019t plan them for months. You don\u2019t put them on your calendar in the ever-decreasing white space of time. Rather, they just \u201chappen.\u201d In my experience, there are two things that I think are critical to engage in spontaneous ministry \u2014 capacity and care.<\/p>\n

Capacity<\/strong>. If your time is so full of events and non-spontaneous ministry opportunities, you lack capacity for spontaneous ministry opportunities. This requires saying \u201cno\u201d to more things so that there is room to say \u201cyes\u201d to the right things.<\/p>\n

Care<\/strong>. Spontaneous ministry happens when you\u2019re aware of those in need around you. You can\u2019t live a self-centered life and expect to enter into spontaneous ministry. This requires walking through life with a heart open for opportunities.<\/p>\n

As you look at your own ministry life, is it full of planned programs or do you have capacity for spontaneity?<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re like my wife and I, there are events on your family calendar to which you have committed. It includes date nights, birthday parties, weddings, etc. Personally, while I see the value of these planned events, I appreciate a calendar that isn\u2019t overwhelmingly full and has capacity for down time. This capacity creates space […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"nf_dc_page":"","_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[31],"tags":[10,3,6],"class_list":["post-1130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-main","tag-cell-ministry","tag-family","tag-life"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pzg9k-ie","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":1090,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/maybe-its-time-to-layoff-a-few-circus-jugglers\/","url_meta":{"origin":1130,"position":0},"title":"Maybe It’s Time to Layoff a Few Circus Jugglers","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"February 16, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I am confronted with this issue every single day of my life. I have been for quite a while but this one seems to get bigger rather than smaller. Here's my observation \u2014 we're all busy; too busy. American is filled with more to do. We have endless entertainment choices,\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/02\/20130216-234859.jpg?fit=272%2C360&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1632,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/take-a-moment-and-smell-the-coffee\/","url_meta":{"origin":1130,"position":1},"title":"Take a Moment and Smell the Coffee","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"June 16, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"While heading back to the office after lunch this week, I dialed Mom as I often do while driving. Sunday is Father\u2019s Day, and I could tell that she was having a hard day thinking about another year without him. 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In\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "Main"","block_context":{"text":"Main","link":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/category\/main\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pexels-photo-272887.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pexels-photo-272887.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pexels-photo-272887.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pexels-photo-272887.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=700%2C400 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/06\/pexels-photo-272887.jpeg?fit=1200%2C800&ssl=1&resize=1050%2C600 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":212638,"url":"https:\/\/jonplotner.com\/v1\/the-task-you-keep-avoiding-is-costing-you-more-than-you-think\/","url_meta":{"origin":1130,"position":2},"title":"The Task You Keep Avoiding Is Costing You More Than You Think","author":"Jon Plotner","date":"May 1, 2026","format":false,"excerpt":"There\u2019s a particular kind of weight that follows you around \u2014 and it\u2019s not the weight of what you\u2019ve done. 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