Family T.I.M.E.

The Importance of Family T.I.M.E.

• Benjamin Franklin: “Do not squander time, for it is the stuff life is made of.”

• Psalms 90:12 (ESV) “So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.”

• Don’t blame technology. Blame ourselves.

The Importance of Family T.I.M.E.

The Importance of Family T.I.M.E.

The four letters in the word TIME can help us learn about the importance of family TIME.• Treasure• Invest• Manage• Enjoy

T Is For Treasure

We should treasure time as a valuable commodity.• Colossians 4:5 (KJV) Walk

in wisdom toward them that are without, redeeming the time.

• Colossians 4:5 (ESV) Walk in wisdom toward outsiders, making the best use of the time.

T Is For Treasure

The most valuable asset to share with our families is our time.• Many parents spell love

“T.H.I.N.G.S.” but children spell love “T.I.M.E.”

• Husbands and wives, give each other your time; it’s the perfect gift for every occasion!

I Is For Invest

John 9:4 (ESV) We must work the works of him who sent me while it is day; night is coming, when no one can work.

I Is For Invest

• 168 hours each week• 56 sleeping hours• 24 necessity hours• 50 work hours• 35 hours of

“discretionary” time• 5 hours per day.What we do with that 5 hours says a lot about us.

I Is For Invest

A study at the University of Michigan of 1,500 households found:• Mothers working outside the home spend an average of 11

minutes a day on weekdays, and thirty minutes a day on weekends with the children (not including mealtime).

• Fathers spend an average of 8 minutes a day on weekdays and 14 minutes a day on weekends in different activities with their children.

I Is For Invest

“I don’t spend much time with my family, but the little time I do spend is ‘quality time.’”• “Quality time” is

really a misnomer.• There is no substitute

for investing a large quantity of time with your family.

M Is For Manage

Same phrase, different application.• Ephesians 5:15-16 (KJV) See then

that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.

• Ephesians 5:15-16 (ESV) Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil.

M Is For Manage

In his book, Seven Habits of Highly Effective People, Stephen Covey writes: “The challenge is not to manage time, but to manage ourselves.”

M Is For Manage

If we don’t manage our time, someone else will manage it for us.• Romans 6:16 (ESV) Do you

not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?

E Is For Enjoy

• Psalms 127:1-5 (ESV) Unless the LORD builds the house, those who build it labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the watchman stays awake in vain. It is in vain that you rise up early and go late to rest, eating the bread of anxious toil; for he gives to his beloved sleep. …

• What city is God talking about?• Why does he say it is vain to eat the

“bread of anxious toil”?

E Is For Enjoy

Psalms 127:1-5 (ESV) … Behold, children are a heritage from the LORD, the fruit of the womb a reward. Like arrows in the hand of a warrior are the children of one's youth. Blessed is the man who fills his quiver with them! …

E Is For Enjoy

Say NO to time-robbers.• There is always something else to do.• There is always somewhere else to be.• Nobody on their deathbed ever said, “I

wish I had spent more time at work.”

E Is For Enjoy

Our family time is short, so make some happy memories!• James 4:14 (ESV) … What is your life? For you are a mist that

appears for a little time and then vanishes.

Conclusion

Psalms 90:1-11 (ESV) Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting you are God. … For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night. You sweep them away as with a flood; they are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning: in the morning it flourishes and is renewed; in the evening it fades and withers. …

Conclusion

Psalms 90:1-11 (ESV) … For all our days pass away under your wrath; we bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are seventy, or even by reason of strength eighty; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone, and we fly away. … So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom.