Mercy Every Minute
We have always exposed our children to a variety of extracurricular activities. From city soccer teams to homeschool drama; from jump rope classes to creation clubs-I can't say we've tried it all, but we've come pretty close. Many of those activities have been a direct answer to prayer for specific needs of specific children. Some have been time wasters.
The balancing act in all of this is learning what to decline and when to add another activity. We try to evaluate the benefit of the activity before just adding another thing to our schedule. We also check our schedule to make sure we still have time for our schoolwork. Before adding an activity, you may want to ask yourself a few questions:
- Does my child have a bent for this activity already and would it benefit him further?
- Would it improve his skills or just use his skills?
- Would it be an outlet for cooped-up energy?
- Could we find a way to do the same thing at home?
- Can more than one child participate, or can the whole family participate?
- Does it incorporate ministry or evangelism? (A huge plus!)
- Does it give the child glory or God glory?
- Are parents and siblings welcome?
- Does it fit with our educational themes and goals this year, or can it wait?
- Do we really have the time/energy to make this commitment?
Because we have a large family, we try to incorporate as many children as we can in any extracurricular activity, or we focus on one or two children per year.
Whatever you choose, make sure your husband is in full agreement, as many activities take up precious and sometimes limited family time. And not only must Dad agree, we need to make sure we've prayed and asked for God's guidance and wisdom. He says He offers it freely to all who will just ask!
"If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." James 1:5
~Deborah
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