Family time

Today is a beautiful summer Saturday. Rain is forecast for later this evening, but before the rain gets here it should be a nice, hot summer day. My wife normally works on Saturdays, but her schedule was changed this week so she's off work today. In a couple of hours we are going to pack a lunch, hop on the Goldwing, and ride to a state park about two hours away for a relaxing picnic and day at the park. It won't cost much money, and it will be a great way to spend a little together. I'm telling you this not just to make you jealous but to share some insight into how a bivocational minister can spend some time with his/her family.

One of the questions I frequently receive from persons considering going into bivocational ministry is how it will impact their family time. I also hear from too many bivos who say they have no family time, and it is having a negative impact on their relationships with their spouse and children. My answer is you simply make time for the family. Like Nike, just do it.

Believe me, there are many other things we could do today. I could work on another chapter of a new book I'm writing. We still have one more flower bed we haven't mulched yet. My yard needs mowing. If the rain doesn't come in until later in the evening I'll do that when we get back. If the rain does get here too early I'll mow another day. The yard will still be there. I could make some phone calls today to pastors I've not talked to recently. I could work on my DMin thesis. My wife has started working on another quilt, and she could do that today. There are many things we could do today, but we're taking a bike ride and enjoying a picnic. We don't get too many Saturdays where she doesn't have to work and I don't have a meeting scheduled, so we're choosing to enjoy this day together.

Bivocational ministers spend time with their family when they choose to do so. We have to plan family times, and we do that with our calendar. My wife's day off is normally Wednesday, so most Wednesdays on my calendar are already marked with her name. I can't control every Wednesday, but I can control most if I do so in advance. This is our day together for a date. Today is just an extra unexpected bonus. You are busy, so it's important to schedule family time.

It's also important to look for those few times scattered here and there when you have some free time. Some readers will complain they have no free time, but the truth is we all do. It just becomes very easy to find ways to fill those times with things that may be of less importance.

It really comes down to making our families a high priority in our lives. It's not enough to give lip service to doing this. If they truly are a high priority for us it will be reflected in our Daytimers. We will regularly be looking for ways to spend time with them and building memories that will last long after we're gone. I don't want my family remembering me as a person who simply worked too hard to spend time with them.

Gotta go. I've got to get ready for a bike ride.