Changing Time(s)

Finally, it's starting to feel a little more like spring, bringing with it a monsoon or two, and the blossoms of new life all around. Trees will soon be budding, flowers blooming, new weeds sprouting in my yard--annual indicators of the changing of the seasons. And here at Shelby Crossings, there's a new excitement in the air as well. (Or is that just pollen?)

Of course, this time of year also means something else: the changing of the clocks. This Sunday marks the beginning of Daylight Savings Time, the day of the year when the "time fairy" sneaks into our homes during the cover of night and steals an hour of life from us. That's 60 minutes of our lives, simply vanished!

So don't forget to set your clocks forward an hour on Saturday night, and get to bed early so you can "beat the clock" and come well rested and ready for worship on Sunday. Don't sleep in, and put it off until Monday; that will only make your Monday worse, in more ways than one!

Most people I talk to think the time change and the whole Daylight Savings Time is a pretty dumb idea anyway. A few states actually refuse to participate, keeping their clocks the same year round. The spring time change sure does affect our moods and our sleep patterns, among other things. And did you know that Daylight Savings Time may be hazardous to your health?

Studies have shown a marked increase in accidents the week immediately following the spring time change, when we lose the hour of sleep. In a two-year study of Canadian traffic accidents, psychologist Stanley Coren of the University of British Columbia found that accidents jumped about 8 percent the Monday after the spring shift, perhaps because of the drivers' loss of an hour of shut-eye.

Coincidence? Perhaps not. Coren also noted a 1996 New England Journal of Medicinestudy that accidents droppedabout 8 percent from normal the Monday after the shift back to standard time in the fall (and the gain of an extra hour of sleep). No one knows the correlation between those who had accidents and those who didn't go to church....but let me just say, you don't want to be one of those statistics!

So be sure to get a good weekend of rest, and make sure you don't miss worshiping with us at Shelby Crossings on Sunday. You might also want to be extra careful on the road this coming Monday. For that matter, maybe all of us should pay a little more attention to how we use the precious allotment of time we have been given each and every day. It is, after all, the time of our lives!

"Therefore, be careful how you walk, not as unwise men, but as wise, making the most of your time, because the days are evil."(Ephesians 5:15-16, ESV)

I look forward to seeing you Sunday.

--Pastor Ken

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