Which of the following are similar to the ways you've served Christ in your family? [check all that apply]
• Taught your kids to see God's glory in nature
• Washed the dishes without being asked
• Played a board game with your kids
• Encouraged your wife to finish her master's degree
• Attended a child's open house at school
• Worked fewer hours to be with your family
• Set an example of a godly prayer life for your children
• Held a crying child
• Swung on the tire swing with your daughter
• Told your wife why you're still in love with her
• Told your son he's got what it takes
• Coached soccer
• Let you child correct you now and then
• Fixed the vacuum cleaner
• Taught your sons to ride a bike
• Listened patiently to a complaint of your wife
• Taped your child's artwork to your office wall
• Admitted to your kids that you were wrong
• Told your children how Christ entered your life
• Cleaned up vomit
• Taught your children to love books
• Been romantic without expecting sex
• Told your daughter she's smart/beautiful
• Set standards for your kids and stuck to them
• Dealt graciously with a busybody neighbor
• Peeled carrots
• Watched movies together
Get a Life! Theme of the Week: Youngster Time-Sharing Tuesday, November 12, 2002
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November/December 200256Get a Life!Theme of the Week: Youngster Time-Sharing Get a Life! Theme of the Week: Youngster Time-Sharing Tuesday, November 12
Key Bible Verse: Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom (Psalm 90:12). Bonus reading:Psalm 90:10–17
My son, John, was playing basketball in a nearby city at 4:00 p.m. on a weekday. Since I can arrange my schedule, I decided to drive to the game with my wife. When we arrived, I was surprised to see only one other father in the bleachers, still wearing his tie. We sat down next to him, and I said, "Isn't it great to be able to watch our sons play?"
"It sure is," he said. "I really wanted to come but I know I shouldn't be here."
"Oh, yeah?" I blurted out. "According to whose value system?"
The man explained that he felt he was letting his fellow office workers down. We discussed this, agreeing that a false sense of guilt drives many men to neglect their families. We also agreed that the desire for an ever-increasing prosperity drives many men to create so many debts and duties that they operate too close to the edge. Their worlds are wired so tight that two hours off might topple their kingdom.
Obviously, the jobs of many won't allow them to take in an afternoon game. But I couldn't help wondering, Where are the men who could take off? A missed game is gone forever.
—Patrick Morley in The Seven Seasons of a Man's Life
My Response: How am I doing at sorting out false guilt from the real thing?
Thought to Apply: The best gift a father can give to his children is — his time. For material things mean little if there is not someone to share them with. —Neil Strait
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