Time with Children

Sometimes 

the smallest 

thing 

take up 

the most room

in your heart. 

Time or Money

Father was a hardworking man who delivered bread as a living to support his wife and three children. He spent all his evenings after work attending classes, hoping to improve himself so t...hat he could one day find a better paying job. Except for Sundays, Father hardly ate a meal together with his family. He worked and studied very hard because he wanted to provide his family with the best money could buy.

Whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

The day came when the examination results were announced. To his joy, Father passed, and with distinctions too! Soon after, he was offered a good job as a senior supervisor which paid handsomely.

Like a dream come true, Father could now afford to provide his family with life’s little luxuries like nice clothing, fine food and vacation abroad.

However, the family still did not get to see father for most of the week. He continued to work very hard, hoping to be promoted to the position of manager. In fact, to make himself a worthily candidate for the promotion, he enrolled for another course in the open university.

Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

Father’s hard work paid off and he was promoted. Jubilantly, he decided to hire a maid to relieve his wife from her domestic tasks. He also felt that their three-room flat was no longer big enough, it would be nice for his family to be able to enjoy the facilities and comfort of a condominium. Having experienced the rewards of his hard work many times before, Father resolved to further his studies and work at being promoted again. The family still did not get to see much of him. In fact, sometimes Father had to work on Sundays entertaining clients. Again, whenever the family complained that he was not spending enough time with them, he reasoned that he was doing all this for them. But he often yearned to spend more time with his family.

As expected, Father’s hard work paid off again and he bought a beautiful condominium overlooking the coast of Singapore. On the first Sunday evening at their new home, Father declared to his family that he decided not to take anymore courses or pursue any more promotions. From then on he was going to devote more time to his family.

Father did not wake up the next day......

If you only have one life to live.. How do you want to live each day?? What are we really living for?? Are we working to live? Or are we living to work?

No Time for Relationships

    
     Are there relationships in your life that are suffering coz you just don't have enuf time? Do you find yourself so busy that you can't go out to lunch with friends, take vacations, play with your kids, or just sit and enjoy the day? The peace if life can sometimes get so out of control; that it feels like there's nothing we can do abt it. We run from activity to activity just to keep going. We microwave our foods because we don't have time to do anything else. We say things like, "I've been meaning to do that - I've just been too busy." And the things of eternal value suffer. If you feel that way u r not alone: more than half of the people around of the world feel their busy schedule hinders them from spending more time with God.
     Busyness never creates good memories, it never develops relationships, and it certainly never expresses love to our loved ones. Instead, it does its best to hijack those meaningful moments in our lives. Busyness doesn't have much to payoff except to keep our stuff coming in, cleaned up, organized, or protected. Coz when you think about it, a large part of busyness has to do with stuff. We want to keep all our stuff - house, cars, boats, toys, and activities - so we work hard to pay the bills. And we want to buy new stuff, so we work even harder. We want to take care of the stuff we already have, so we spend much of our days cleaning it, straightening it, and organizing it. We fill our schedules with all kinds of activities like sports, hobbies, and suddenly there's more stuff to do than there is time in the day. Of course, all that stuff isn't inherently bad - some of it is beneficial and builds lasting relationships. But when there's more stuff than time, something or someone suffers, and most often it isn't just us, but also those we love.
     Like it or not, stuff impacts our love lives.Some parents buy the lie that their kids need all the stuff they ask for, and for them long hours and hectic schedules means love. But the kids end up getting what they don't really need instead of what they do need, which is time with their parents. Some people say it's not quantity that matters but quality. But just ask a ten-year-old if she'd rather have a high quality square of fine chocolate imported from France or a big bag of Hershey's chocolate kisses.
     Quantity trumps quality every time. Love is built on time spent, not on how good the time is. Time spent sitting on the back porch, watching the birds fly by, or just walking around the neighborhood builds lasting, loving memories. But how many times does busyness get in the way of those moments?
     If life is too busy - if we wish we had more time, more love, more relationships - then it might be time to consider the pull of stuff in our lives.
     Search for peace, and work to maintain it.

Schedule Time Just For You

      Many women feel that time for themselves is stolen time in which they are playing hooky from more important endeavors! It's time to stop feeling that you have to get sick in order to take time for yourself. It's time to start scheduling self-nurturing activities, because when you schedule personal time you make it legimate.
     Take a mini-vacation. We all need a break from our busy lives. We know, there's so much to do, you couldn't possibily take time just for yourself. But let's put things in perspective. There is very little in life that requires attention. You may think that it does, but with rare exceptions, most things can wait untill tomorrow. In other words, take time for yourself.
     Your health and well-being may be in jeopardy if you're neglecting yourself. And if you're running on empty, you're not doing anyone any good, atleast of all yourself.
     Fantasize about what time for yourself would be like? What do you want to do? Where do you want to go? Who, if anyone, do you want to spend this time with?
     Start small, do what feels manageable- a lunch date with a friend, cuddling up for an hour with a good book, an afternoon at the movies, a walk in the woods, spending part of a day under the covers, napping, watching your favourite movie, or having a picnic in the park. The possibilities are endless. Do what makes you feel happy and relaxed for couple of hours everyday.
     If you really want to be daring, take an entire day off. This dosen't mean catching up on unpaid bills, doing work at home. It's a day devoted to you and you alone. Let your family know that you're going to take some time just for you. Notify your office that you're going to take a mental health day. Take a sick day without being sick. Use one of your day just to pamper yourself.
     Be courageous and schedule at least one hour of personal time at least once a day. Remember, it can be something as simple as getting up before your family to enjoy your morning coffee or tea in peace, soaking in a bubble bath surrounded by candle-light, or watching the petals open on the roses in your garden.

     When scheduling personal time, keep it simple. The fewer details the better.
     Self-caring is essential. It's necessary for your psycological, emotional and physical well-being. When you set aside time just for you, you're declaring your self-worth. In return, other people will value you and treat you with greater respect. I like myself enuf to spend time with myself...:)