As the weekend approaches I wanted to share with you a simple but often forgotten part of our plans, our family. Yes, winter often leads us indoors, but it also takes us away to individual activities and isolation if we let it. I want to challenge you today to try something different this weekend - Quality Family Time or some good old QFT. You see, even when we have opportunities sometimes we neglect to take advantage of them. Trust me, we will always find things to occupy our time. But, these same things may not be valuable uses of our time. So, this weekend Compass wants you to navigate some QFT into your weekend.  We won’t expect something crazy like a whole day together, but if you would start with an intentional hour where you set aside time without answering your phone (home or cell), texting, or checking your blackberry or email you might find that it surprises the ones you love.
We are expecting snow here in southern Ohio so I am anticipating a couple hours of sledding and tubing with our kids. Will it be cold?… Of course, but will it create some great laughter and happy memories? … Absolutely (and hopefully we will avoid the emergency room)! Yes, I could be getting some work done or cleaning the house but you know what? I will have years of an empty clean house but I will not have the laughter of my children filling the hallways as much as I do now. Believe me, you just might find the laughter within yourself too.
My friend and mentor, Mario gave me a great book by Dr. Tim Kimmel called Raising Kids for True Greatness. Dr. Kimmel works to show us a different paradigm for success. He calls it greatness. It is not the same as the world’s definition of success. In it Kimmel lists Ten Ways to Be a Great Member of the Family. One of the recommendations is, “Be upbeat, positive, and encouraging” (9). How many times do we allow the negative perspective to enter the dialogue with our most valued and important relationships? If we simply turn that around with intention this week it will have ripple effects far beyond the weekend. A second piece of advice Kimmel offers is, “Have a lot of fun, just not at the expense of anyone else” (9).  Sometimes when the weekend comes many working parents feel as if they are spent. Well, we better tap the reserves for our family because they deserve more from us than that. If you fulfill Kimmel’s first step than you will find that you can get refueled simply by being positive and having fun with your children and/or your spouse . Give it a try this weekend. You have nothing to lose but everything to gain. An investment in fun with your family is worth every moment. Start with an hour.
Love big!
Work hard!
Forgive gladly!
Repent quickly!
Encourage graciously!
Speak humbly!
Play enthusiastically!
Think abundantly!
And … never stop dancing!
~Dr. Tim Kimmel
I hope that you can create an hour of fun this weekend and that the feeling it ignites becomes contagious!
Peace and Joy,
Lisa
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