Make Time for Fun with Your Family
By Rick Warren
“People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live” (Ecclesiastes 11:8 NCV).
It’s the first common denominator of great families: Awesome families are playful. They know how to play. They know how to have fun. They enjoy life together. This is the missing ingredient in so many families today. Today our families are too busy, too tired, too negative, too worn out, and too serious. Who wants to come home from school to that? Families should be fun.
The Bible talks about this and actually commands it. Ecclesiastes 11:8 says, “People ought to enjoy every day of their lives, no matter how long they live” (NCV).
Why is it important for you to enjoy every day? Because you don’t know how long you’re going to live. You don’t know if you’ve got next week or next month. You don’t even know if you’ve got tomorrow. So whatever living you’re going to do, you better do it now.
When my kids were growing up, I determined that the number one thing I wanted them to know about our family was not that we were good or smart or whatever. I wanted them to know that they were loved and that we had fun together. I created all kinds of things just to have fun.
One of them was called Daddy’s Magical Mystery Tour. The kids loved it. It’s a hallowed reputation in our family. Now I do it with grandkids! When the kids were in preschool or grade school, I’d wake them up about midnight and yell, “Get out of bed! It’s time for Daddy’s Magical Mystery Tour!” And they’d get excited because they knew that meant that they didn’t have to go to school and that we were about to do something really fun, whether it was driving to a hotel with a pool or making an ice cream run.
You need to remember this: People don’t remember what you say, but they will remember how you made them feel. That’s important advice for a boss, a boyfriend or girlfriend, a parent, or a husband or wife.
My kids don’t remember anything I said in the early years of their lives. But they do remember how Daddy made them feel. They remember that we had a lot of fun.
Awesome families are playful.
“I recommend having fun …. That way [you] will experience some happiness along with all the hard work God gives [you]” (Ecclesiastes 8:15 NLT, second edition).
Talk It Over
- What commitments or distractions keep your family from having fun together?
- Do you focus more on what you say to your children or how you make them feel? In what ways?
- What will you do today to be more playful with your family? What plans will you make to ensure your family has fun together?
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This devotional © 2016 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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