I find it interesting how few people have clear boundaries in their lives. Boundaries with work, boundaries with family and boundaries with relationships. So I often I find that rather than taking control of our schedules, our appointments and our finances we let those things take control of us. Consequently we can find ourselves living in the tyranny of the urgent without a clear sense of purpose! Stacie and I have a few boundaries that we've set in place in our lives that help us enjoy life and family more.
Here are just a few:
1. We always take one day off per week! During the summer we did Mondays due to schedules, starting this week we switch back to Fridays. I don't schedule appointments or answer my cell phone on those days. (except from our staff @ southbay) We go to the park, starbucks, take naps, watch movies and just have some downtime. This is one of my favorite days of the week.
2. We always have one date night each week. We do Thursday or Friday night. The Santos family and us swap babysitting. This is one of the best systems in our lives! I don't talk on my cell phone during that time and Stacie and I focus on our relationship with each other.
3. We operate by a budget. We have predetermined categories and determine how much money money we can spend and in what categories.
4. We set aside time every morning for bible study and prayer. This helps tune our hearts to God.
5. We are currently in the middle of a workout called p90x. This is six days a week in the mornings. It requires us to get up real early!
6. Bedtime- we try to get to bed every night by like 9:30pm. This helps us be able to get a good nights rest and be up by 5:00am for workout.
7. Boy's Club- every Saturday morning Caedmon and I have a time called Boy's Club. We go to Peet's coffee and the playground. It is such a great way for us to connect and build our relationship.
8. Scheduling- I keep a pretty tight schedule each week. I plan my week before it starts and have certain times that I am available to meet with people. If people who want to meet cannot meet during the times that are available we shoot for the next week. This is a great way to help me stay sane!
We believe that these areas of our lives don't happen accidently. I am so thankful for a wife who values being disciplined and having boundaries in her life. When we get off from these boundaries our life tends to become less balanced. We always want to check and make sure that we are on track in these areas!
