Tommy Barnett - The Power of a Half Hour: Take Back Your Life Thirty Minutes at a Time

The Power of a Half Hour is full of unique, practical, and God-inspired truths to keep your time focused on all that God has called you to do. If you apply these principles, I believe it will bring renewed purpose and inspiration to your life.

J OYCE M EYER , Bible teacher and best-selling author

Before reading this book, I never thought of seeing thirty minutes as a power-packed opportunity to improve my life. Pastor Barnetts half-hour power principles have helped me strengthen my faith, become more productive, and connect with those I love with more intentionality. This book is as inspirational as it is practical, and I plan to use it as an integral part of my staff development program.

L YSA T ERKEURST , New York Times best-selling author and president of Proverbs 31 Ministries

Tommy Barnett inspires people to be bold witnesses and fulfill Christs commission. He accomplishes much for the kingdom. After reading this dynamic book, youll understand why. His concept of thirty minutes can help you make the most of each dayin many areasand enable you to have a positive influence on others.

J AMES R OBISON , founder and president, LIFE Outreach International

Pastor Tommy Barnett is a hero of mine. He is a father in the faith, a man of great conviction, and a visionary who has changed the lives of manyincluding my own. His grasp on the Word of God and its power to radically alter the course of your life will bless and inspire you. Allow the deep revelations and years of wisdom from this man of God to impart health and life into your faith journey.

B RIAN H OUSTON , senior pastor, Hillsong Church

T HE P OWER OF A H ALF H OUR
P UBLISHED BY W ATER B ROOK P RESS
12265 Oracle Boulevard, Suite 200
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All Scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are from the New Revised Standard Version of the Bible, copyright 1989 by the Division of Christian Education of the National Council of the Churches of Christ in the USA. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked (KJV) are taken from the King James Version. Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996, 2004, 2007. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Details in some anecdotes and stories have been changed to protect the identities of the persons involved.

Hardcover ISBN 978-0-307-73184-5
eBook ISBN 978-0-307-73185-2

Copyright 2013 by Tommy Barnett Ministries, Inc.

Personal Power of a Half Hour Action Plan and Small-Group Study Guide prepared by Stephen Sorenson.

Cover design by Brand Navigation

Published in association with the literary agency of Fedd & Company, Inc., P.O. Box 341973, Austin, TX 78734.

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

Published in the United States by WaterBrook Multnomah, an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House LLC, New York, a Penguin Random House Company.

W ATER B ROOK and its deer colophon are registered trademarks of Random House LLC.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Barnett, Tommy.
The power of a half hour : take back your life 30 minutes at a time / Tommy Barnett.First Edition.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
ISBN 978-0-307-73184-5ISBN 9780307731852 1. Time managementReligious aspectsChristianity. I. Title.
BV4598.5.B37 2013
248.4dc23

2013029666

v3.1

I dedicate this book to my administrative assistant of forty years, Lynn Lane, who helped me live my life by schedule and the half-hour principle.

My name is Tommy Barnett.

Im a pastor and have devoted my entire adult life to helping people connect with God and find better ways to live. I could fill up this book and more with all kinds of spiritual and practical ideas about what works in life and what doesnt. I think it would be good stuff, but I have one practical idea that I know from my own experience rises far above all the others.

I admit its not an overly unique concept, like the invention of the Internet, for example. However, its an idea that has helped me realize success and great satisfaction in all aspects of my personal and professional life. I mean everythingfrom personal goals and dreams to marriage to raising a family to relationships to work.

I believe the idea can change your life,
though, as it has changed mine.

Most importantly, it has helped me serve God and others more effectively.

Trust me, my idea is not rocket science; in fact, its so simple that anyone can understand and benefit from it.

I believe the idea can change your life, though, as it has changed mine.

I call it the power of a half hour.

Many people think of a half hour as a minimal or meaningless gap in time, downtime to catch your breath between periods of major effort. But the truth is your half hours can determine the difference between success and failure. Your half hours direct and shape your future.

You can literally change your world in thirty minutes. In the same way that your effect on the world is felt one life at a time, so is that effect delivered through the careful and thoughtful investment of your half hours. The beauty of this reality is that anyone can do it. You dont need a PhD, and you dont need a life coach to pull it off. All you need is to accept the idea, have a clear sense of your God-given purpose, examine your activity patterns, sensitize yourself to your time choices, and start taking advantage of the power of a half hour.

Every half hour in your day is a power-loaded resource. Your choice of how to spend those minutes is the focus of this book, which I intend to make a practical conversation about a resource that we misunderstand, abuse, take for granted, and ignore.

I want to help you become the person God intends you to be and accomplish His plans for your life. And in order to do that, you need to use your small increments of time wiselynot just the big slices of time that are devoted to both routine daily activities and major life events.

I agree with Harvey Mackay who said, Time is free, but its priceless. You cant own it, but you can use it. You cant keep it, but you can spend it. Once youve lost it, you can never get it back.

I know that its not easy to find even a free hour in the world we live in. I also have learned that its difficult to accomplish a great deal in a quarter hourespecially if you need to communicate graciously and genuinely with another person within that time frame. But a half hour