Healthy Boundries

Someone once shared with me the ABCs of maintaining a pace for a ministry in the long-haul. Here they are...

• ATTITUDES (positive ones)
• BOUNDARIES (healthy ones)
• CONNECTIONS (strong ones)

It seams that I typically do OK with attitude and connections - but boundaries are the some of the most difficult margins for me to keep.

One of the boundaries that my wife and I have set in our life is Thursday lunch together. It's every Thursday. It's always at the same time. It's at the same place - my new favorite Burger King just 1 block down from TBC (although an occasional McD's is really nice). I don't schedule any other lunch appointments.

I've been tempted to schedule a lunch on Thursday because right now things are about 2-3 weeks out for lunch meetings. But the boundaries I set that contribute to the connection with my family is most important. It's a margin that I simply cannot skip. Thursday is a long day. Not just for me - but for Lisa too. Leave home at 8am and return at 8:30pm. I know in the corporate world this would get high marks on sacrificing self and family to contribute to the corporation's bottom line.

At the end of the day, if my family doesn't survive - I'm of no use to any organization or ministry. My family has to be the most important ministry. And we have it easy right now. We only have an almost-3-year-old and almost-1-year-old. We don't have the sports, school, music, dance, and other extra stuff to deal with. My boundaries will need to shift in the future. In order for my margins to stay the same, I'll need to kick-out other 'not-quite-as-important' activities that I might currently be doing (like blogging, reading RSS feeds, music groups, etc.).

Messing with Thursday lunch with be messing with unhealthy margins in my life. With Christmas execution/planning at its highest point right now, I need to maintain a healthy boundary/margin so that my highest priority (family over ministry) stays intact.

God, You want my family to be more important than the church. Help me to put the laptop away, the smartphone down, and my task list in my pocket when my family needs me the most. I want to model the relationship You have with us for my family. I can't do that if they get the leftovers. Help me to examine accurately if leftovers are served. I want to give You and my family the best choice first.