Get your calendars, get your sharpies, and go!

Amanda on March 8th, 2009

Post by Ashley Christian
My birthday was this week and all I really wanted was to have my husband home and if we had done the calendar thing (Cathy talked about how she’s not a calendar person but her and Doug really have to keep one to thrive.  They start with the family calendar then finalize ministry events around it and purposefully leave open spaces and protect those) instead of just taking things as they come I could of had my wish!  Planning could also help us live with more purpose, it’s a lot easier to say no to something “good” if you have that family/ministry rhythm in writing.  It’s also convinced me that I need to schedule  in some vacation time with just our immediate family,  even if we just stay home.
As far as the week goes, Cathy also said it’s important to decide how many ministry nights a week your family can thrive on, I think she said it’s 4 a week for them, for us it’s 3, how about everyone else?

Date’s with your spouse are so important too.  For us what’s worked is Friday night dates at home after the kids are in bed and a monthly date night co-op with 2 other families where we take turns and one couple watches all the kids while the other 2 go out for two hours.

I would love to explore Amanda’s post about vacations and talk about schedules more.

Discuss (9)

Amanda at 9:17pm March 8

Happy Birthday Ashley!
I loved your idea about the dating co-op. And date nights after the kids go to bed, but to have even that time scheduled just so you don’t get to doing other things. We do that with family vacations even though we can’t go anywhere (no $). We still schedule a week off just to stay home. It’s all about being intentional.
Thanks for your post!!

Heather at 12:10pm March 17

I feel like I’m the rare one on here….I deal with my husbands job by being involved! I don’t think ministry is a one-sided job like an accountant or something. Ministry is something we do as a couple. I’m a leader in both the junior high and high school groups, co-lead our life groups that meet in our house and even lead some of our mission trips. Sometimes I’m away more than he is because he does not run junior high but oversees it as the pastor of student ministries. i think the best way to “deal” with it is to be involved…and to remember that it is God’s calling for us to be ministering to people. Ministry is not a job, it’s a lifestyle….it’s not something you leave at the office at 5:00pm.