Finding balance...

So many opportunities...so little time! There are so many activities, play dates, playgrounds to explore, ball games, dance practices, swimming lessons, VBS...my head is spinning! What happened to just spending time together as a family this summer? It seems a bit backwards when we have to "schedule" family time around our many activities. The real question is, how much is too much...

I hate feeling like I've barely seen my children this week, and it's only Tuesday afternoon! I'm so thankful that they have so many opportunities for wonderful, fun, even enriching experiences this summer. But when our summer calendar is busier than our school year calendar, it makes me wonder have we overdone it a bit? So, how much is too much? How do we balance these wonderful opportunities with family time?

As I've prayed it all through it seems to me that it is all a matter of priorities. Just like with our finances, some of the potential activities are "needs" but that also means some fit into the category of "want" or "desire." My daughter has an amazing opportunity to serve others in a local, short term mission project. That's a no-brainer! Of course she'll serve. Our church has a fun-packed week of VBS in store for the older 2 children. We've moved things around to be sure they'll be there. Other activities have much less to offer them spiritually, so they'll probably be limited on our calendar. There are wonderful opportunities for educational enrichment, but again, it's a matter of balance. Do they need to spend 6 hours a day away from home for a week at a history day camp?  Probably not. Would it have been fun and educational? Yes. However, that one didn't make the cut.

I don't want to finish the summer break stressed and burnt out from activity overkill. As I've always told my kids, it's the same love that tells them "no" that tells them "yes." As I was praying through our calendar today, the Lord directed my attention to 1 Corinthians 10: 23 - 24. "'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is beneficial. 'Everything is permissible'—but not everything is constructive. Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others." As we plan our activities, this will be our guiding principle. With the Lord holding the reins of our summer schedule, I think we'll have a blast!