Please read PROJECT F6 = Faith & PROJECT F6 = Family before you read this post.

Fun, fun, fun, till my daddy took the T-Bird away…

What is your T-Bird? What brings you joy and happiness in life? Have you ever taken the time to think about the things you enjoy doing? God gave us passions to enjoy while we are on this earth.  He created the beauty of nature for us to explore.  He created a desire for the arts and entertainment.  He created us to enjoy food.  God gave us our senses to live a full life.  He created us to enjoy relationships with others, He created us with an ability to enjoy life.  Jesus was a carpenter, He enjoyed to build things.  Hey, just think about it, fishing is a Biblical sport, right?

I think we too easily forget about enjoying life.  We get so caught up in doing, doing, doing that we miss out on slowing down and enjoying life.  Not that there isn’t joy in doing, but sometimes we need to remember to enjoy the hobbies God has wired us to enjoy.  God put so much detail in His creation, just look around at the beauty of His majesty.  God created us to care about how things look and the ambiance of our surroundings.

I Samuel 16:7

“People look at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart.”

Did you catch that? Man looks at the outward…That means that man cares about what things look like.  God can see past into the heart, but I believe He created man to enjoy the outward things in life.  Obviously not sinful things or anything that distracts us from God, but we need to enjoy the things God has put in our heart to enjoy.  I believe EVERYONE should have hobbies.  Hobbies that can cause them to slow down and appreciate the God given enjoyment they bring to us.

The question you need to ask yourself is…”Am I enjoying my life?” Do you have a map to make sure you have some fun in your life?  It’s good to laugh, it’s good to take in the things God has wired us for.  But if you are not careful you will spend ALL of your time working, working, working until you burn out.  Hobbies have a way of refreshing us and rejuvenating our strength.

Proverbs 17:22 (NCV)

A happy heart is like good medicine, but a broken spirit drains your strength.

So what is your plan or your map to make sure you are getting “fun” time in your life? If you have no map you will NEVER have time for “fun”.  If you simply wait for some downtime to take that camping trip with your family, read that book, start that art project you’ve always wanted to do, go fishing, take a vacation…YOU NEVER WILL.  Something will always steal that time.  So what is your map to enjoy this one life we have to live on the earth?

Get a map for your “Fun” time and live it out.  Here are some ideas for your Fun Map…

Project F6

Fun

Purpose: Enjoying my hobbies

Question: Am I enjoying my life? 

First, take out a piece of paper and write “Fun” at the top, and then put a circle around it.  Now, using one word, write down a sub-category that you feel is the most important under the banner of “Fun” (see examples below).  Put a circle around that word and draw a line connecting this circle with the “Fun” circle.  You can have as many sub-categories as you want, but don’t go too overboard for now.  Better to start small and work your way up to more later.  For example…some of my sub-categories for “Fun” are…

Fun

– Art

– Music

– Learning

– Cooking

Now that you have taken the time to map out the sub-categories that are most important under “Fun”, take it one step further.  Under each sub-category begin to write down the things that will help you accomplish these areas.  For example, my things are…

Art

– Painting

– Teaching

– Exploring

Music 

– Writing

– Listening

Learning

– Reading

– Researching

Cooking

– Creating 

– Eating

You can continue to break down each category into action steps to help you define what you are going to do in each area.  For example…

Art

Painting

– Oil Painting

– Acrylic Painting

– Abstract Painting

Teaching

– Classes 

– Friends 

Exploring

– New Ideas 

– New Techniques  

Take time to think through and write out your “Fun” Map.

Tomorrow we will map out “Fitness”