Article For My Column

Women’s Section

By: Josie Valley

Minutes in ‘March’-ing…

‘Onward Minute #978’

Imagine if you will, an actual minute. You know, one minute- as in a measurement of time. Like an hour, second or day. Imagine this minute with arms and legs- silly I know, but really, just try...You can even put a top-hat on it if you’d like! There are actually 1440 minutes in a day. Now imagine all of these minutes- armed, legged, and all lined up in a row. Then at the start of each new day, 12:00am, they begin marching right alongside of you, top-hats and all! However, these minutes do not stop marching. They march continuously onward only able to be stopped by you!


Hypothetically, let’s just say that normal people usually are sleeping by 12:00am. So from 12:00am until about 7:00 am, 420 minutes have marched right-on and out of your day, permanently unused and never to return. Ok- a bit dramatic, but realistically, you only get 1440 minutes each day- these are not recyclable. You are now left with 1020 minutes to do as you will…


I was thinking if we could really see the minutes we have in a day, would we use them differently? If we understood that once they have marched by us and we can no longer grasp them, would it change the amount of enthusiasm with which we approach our day? I thought to myself, “If I actually could see how many minutes I waste, I bet I’d be much more likely to use them a bit wiser!” We are visual beings. Greater impact is made when we can attach a picture to a thought in our mind. Although we can’t see- armed, legged, and ‘top-hatted’ minutes marching on by, the reality is that these minutes indeed vanish if not used immediately!


We know that our lives are but a vapor- we are only here, in the real scheme of things, for a time so short that we really have no business letting our ‘marching minutes’ miss a beat! Do we grab onto our minutes and hand them to someone else- i.e. Helping a neighbor, feeding the homeless, visiting a widow, mentoring children, or investing at all in the ‘what really matters?’ Or do we grab our minutes and tuck them into our pockets only to be used for our own needs- pull twenty minutes out for a power nap, fifteen more minutes for a disgruntled phone tangent- minutes #897-#1000 spent on facebook and twitter, while the rest of our minutes get divided between all things that benefit the cause of… ‘Me!’ With a guilty sigh, I regretfully confess, that my marching minutes have often charged right out of my day and into someone else’s. Unfortunately, I have lost many an opportunity to give minutes away that could have potentially turned someone’s minutes of divorce, grief, loneliness and need, into minutes of hope, love, and peace. This March, think on your minutes. Maximize your minutes as you March into April! Life is but a vapor and our time here is short, but vital. Think on what counts- minute after minute…


“Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring. What is your life? For you are a mist that appears for a little time and then vanishes.” ~ James 4:14



To know how to best invest your minutes read:

Psalm 39:4-5, Proverbs 11:30, Isaiah 45:22, Matthew 28:18-20, Mark 16:15-16,

Luke 12:18, Romans 2:6-8, Ephesians 5:15, 2:10 2 Timothy 2:15, 1 Peter 3:15


Jackie’s ‘5 Minute Pretzel’ Treat!


(Worth every minute…This recipe is courtesy of my best friend of 22 years, Jackie!)



1 lb. sour dough pretzel nuggets In a microwave safe bowl melt butter. Add the remaining

1 stick of butter ingredients and coat pretzels. Microwave all together for

1/3 cup of sugar five to six minutes- stopping after each minute to stir.

1 ½ teaspoon cinnamon (I always put more) Pretzels will crust with the mixture coating. SO GOOD!