Time Management Toward Fun - Part 1

“There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven.”
Ecc 3:1
 
“I’m BORED!” Have you heard this yet? If not, it is sure to come. As summer turns the corner you will find that these relaxing days off will dissolve into an unquenchable thirst for something fun to do.
 
If you are anything like us, you resist the pressure to provide a non-stop buffet of fun. Is it really our responsibility to keep our kids entertained at all times? I appreciate Solomon’s perspective on the appropriate time for all things. In these few verses he comments on birth and death, tearing down and building up, speaking and being silent. Weeping and mourning gives way to laughing and dancing.
 
Summer is an excellent time to practice balance in daily living. In our home that means finding the time to be responsible for chores (trash collection, kitchen cleanup) and a time for dozing off in front of classic TV re-runs. Our girls get up and make their beds just like any day during the school year, but they also
stay up past their normal bedtime playing in the fading light of summer evenings. Here are a few suggestions that might inspire you to find the proper time for all things:
 
1. Work and play together – Everyone working in the yard makes the load lighter. But don’t stop when the grass is cut and the weeds are gone.  Balance this with a surprise trip to the ice cream shop. Or, better yet, prior to dishing out the Saturday chore list, hit the local donut shop for a pre-work sugar energy boost!
 
2. Combine work and fun – Find your local food pantry and then go serve there together. Enjoy the time as a family helping others. Fun can spontaneously take on many forms. Sometimes it shows up in the midst
of doing something helpful.
 
3. Set a new goal, and achieve it together – Awhile back we climbed our first mountain as a family. It wasn’t all that high, but it was challenging for two little girls. There was plenty of moaning along the way, and
at least one scraped knee. But when we reached the summit, the celebration began. Fun can arrive at the end of a goal accomplished. Challenges force teamwork, cooperation, and endurance. Reaching your
goal together might become a moment of fun that you’ll never forget.
 

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Camper Corner: What does “summer fun” mean to you? What are some ways that you can create fun through being helpful or achieving a goal together as a family?