✝️ Your Calendar Is Preaching

Good morning! A few weeks ago, I introduced you to my MTM wingman, Michael Meshaw. We've known each other for 22 years, as he was my son's teacher and coach back in middle school, before Michael and his family went on the mission field in Kenya for seven years. They're back in the States, and he has been my right hand with MTM for months now. Next week, he'll be launching his own newsletter, geared toward 20-40-year-old guys (see blurb below the article)!

I asked him to write our article this week, and you’ll see a fantastic challenge below to look at how we steward our time. Appreciate you, Michael! - Will (the old guy in the pic at the end of the article) Let’s go!

Or listen to the audio version here:

You’ve probably lived this moment. You’re finishing one more email. Your phone buzzes. A notification pops up for a meeting you agreed to but barely remember.

In the background, you hear, “Hey, Dad, can you…?” or your wife asking, “Are you free tonight?”

And what comes out of your mouth is some version of, “Give me a minute.” The problem isn’t that you said it once. It’s that you realize you say it all the time.

That’s usually the point where a man starts to feel the gap between the life he’s actually living and the life he says he wants: close to God, present with his family, rooted instead of rushed.

So here’s the hard question: If I could see your calendar, would it match your calling? 

God Built “Margin” Into Creation, Not Just Into Quiet Times 

Before there were emails, deadlines, or travel teams, God built a rhythm into the world itself: “And on the seventh day God finished His work that he had done, and he rested… So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy” (Genesis 2:2–3).

Sabbath wasn’t God collapsing from exhaustion. It was God setting a pattern. Later, He would command Israel: “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy… On it you shall not do any work” (Exodus 20:8–10).

Notice what He doesn’t say: “Remember the Sabbath day and if you get everything done, maybe rest.” He hardwires margin into their week. Work six. Stop one. Trust Me with the gap.

Many writers have pointed out that Sabbath is more than a day off; it’s an act of resistance against the lie that your worth equals your productivity. Psalm 46:10 cuts right through our noise: “Be still, and know that I am God”. The order matters. Be still, then know. Where in your week is that kind of stillness even possible?

Jesus Lived Busy… but Never Lived Hurried 

You could argue that Jesus faced more pressure than any man who has ever lived. Crowds, critics, constant needs. And yet, look at His rhythm: “But he would withdraw to desolate places and pray” (Luke 5:16). Not once. Not occasionally. He would withdraw.

This was a pattern. Jesus also extends this invitation to us: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest… you will find rest for your souls” (Matthew 11:28–29).

Soul rest isn’t just a feeling you get on vacation. It’s the fruit of a life that keeps saying “yes” to Jesus and “no” to hurry.

Paul presses this further: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil” (Ephesians 5:15–16). Making the best use of time doesn’t mean cramming every minute. It means aligning your minutes with what actually matters.

Family Time Isn’t “Extra” It’s Stewardship

If God has given you a wife, kids, or close relationships, that’s not just a blessing; it’s a stewardship. “Behold, children are a heritage from the Lord, the fruit of the womb a reward” (Psalm 127:3).

The same psalm warns: “It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil” (Psalm 127:2).

Working nonstop and calling it “providing” while you starve your family of presence is not wise stewardship. It’s anxious toil dressed up as faithfulness. Joshua draws a line in the sand that still speaks to us: “But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord” (Joshua 24:15).

Does serving the Lord in your house look like more than dropping everyone off at church? Does it look like unhurried dinners, eye contact, shared prayer, laughter, and even boredom together? What might shift in your home if you treated family time like a non-negotiable appointment with God?

A simple not-so-simple framework: 

1. Sabbath: One day set apart. Choose a 24-hour window each week. Turn work off. Worship, rest, play, and delight in God and your people. Remember: “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27).

2. Silence & Scripture: 10–20 minutes daily. No phone. No noise. Just you, the Word, and the Lord. Let “the word of Christ dwell in you richly,” as Paul says (Colossians 3:16). Start with a psalm or a gospel and sit with it.

3. Set windows for technology and work. Decide ahead of time: “After 6:30 p.m., my laptop is closed, and my phone lives in the kitchen.” That’s not legalism. That’s love, expressed through boundaries. Is this going to require saying “no” to something good? Absolutely. But men who walk in biblical wisdom already know that every deep “yes” has a cost. 

Sabbath, Silence, and Set Windows. You don’t need a perfectly curated rule of life. You need a starting point you’ll actually live. Inevitably, there will be stumbles along the way.

That’s why we’re here. To walk together and encourage you to get up and keep going. We’d love to hear how you’re doing on your journey of living out the values the Bible has called you to.

Reflection Questions

You don’t need to overhaul your entire life tonight. But you do need to respond. So here are a few questions to sit with before God:

• What is one concrete block of time this week you can protect for Sabbath-like rest with God and your family?

• Where is hurried living quietly undermining the man you want to become?

• What one boundary - on work, on your phone, or on your schedule - do you need to set in the next 24 hours to create real space for God and the people He’s entrusted to you? Ask the Spirit to show you. Then write it down. Tell someone. And next time you hear yourself say, “I’ll be there in a minute,” you might actually mean it.

Here to serve,

-Michael - the young guy in the picture below ;-)

Announcing Michael’s Newsletter!

Six months ago, Will asked if I would pray about joining him in pouring into men's lives. My answer was immediate: yes, because for nearly two years, I had already been praying for an opportunity to serve in a ministry for men.

Looking back, it’s clear the Lord was preparing More The Man for this season, and preparing me through challenges and victories for this opportunity.

I’m grateful for what’s ahead and look forward to walking, growing, and sharpening one another as we become More The Man God has called us to be.

Beginning next week, we’re launching a new newsletter designed for 20-40-year-olds, offering biblical truth, practical wisdom, and clear direction for daily life. Join the waitlist by emailing Michael and be part of what’s ahead.