The Importance of Hobbies

I never realized how important hobbies were until I became a mom. Because, honestly, you don't miss something until it's gone. And as moms, we fail to give ourselves the time to pursue our interests, hobbies, and God-ordained talents. We get wrapped up in the daily grind and sometimes fail to enjoy life apart from our family. Don't get me wrong, family is very important and our number one pursuit other than God; but that shouldn't mean it's our ONLY pursuit. If we don't get the needed time to pursue our own individual interests as moms, it gets difficult to serve our familywith 100%.


Let me explain. I believe the love and care we give our families, children and husband, fills us about 80% give or take. But God has made us to be individuals with gifts and talents, personalities and interests, that make us unique and special to Him. If we fail to develop and invest in some of these things, we fail to fill ourselves enough to be content and enjoy fully that first 80%. We need down time, we need Mom Time, time for ourselves.

I recently picked up painting in acrylics. I'm not an artist by any means but it was enjoyable to just achieve a goal, even as simple as painting a painting. Since I recently found out I'm expecting our third child, I thought I'd paint a maternal theme. It felt great to finish something I could be proud of. That's what hobbies do. Enrich us, grow us, develop us.

You might be saying, "But I don't have any hobbies." Well, it's a great time to pick one. Here are some suggestions:

• Reading, writing, scrapbooking



• Knitting, crocheting, quilting, sewing



• Cooking, baking



• Running, exercising



• Fishing, hiking, outdoor sports



• Drawing, painting, crafting



• Jewelry making
  

These simply name a few options for you. Don't feel guilty for spending some down time. Everyone, including God, takes time to rest after working. Follow His example and do the same.

Mrs. Couch Potato Head

I love watching television. I hate that I love watching television. Yet every time I have a free moment, usually when the kids are asleep, I look for the remote control and turn it on. Even if there’s nothing on. Channel up, channel down, channel up, channel down. I think it’s an addiction—I don’t know why I do it. Maybe it’s because I’m with the kids all day and when they’re asleep, it’s my time to indulge in frivolous activity. Maybe it’s because my brain is so on the go during the day that at night, I just need to vegge and watch aimlessly. Whatever the reason, I can’t stand it. Maybe that’s one reason I started this blog—to prevent me from watching television.

The funny thing is that I’m not lacking in things to do. There’s a pile of books that I want to read. There’re art supplies collecting dust in the garage. There’re knitting needles waiting to be picked up. And, of course, the endless laundry and cleaning that never seems to get done. But when I think about these other activities, I know they’ll take more use of my brain then I really want to apply unfortunately.

I know there’s nothing wrong with watching television, but when I calculate how much I watch and compare it with the amount of time I say to myself, “I’m too busy” for some other activity, my heart cringes. Because honestly, fulfilling Mom-time is essential to a mother’s life, especially a stay-at-home mom. And watching television isn't really fulfilling Mom-time. We need to continue to develop who God’s made us to be—individuals with God-given gifts and talents, dreams and pursuits. As great as being a mom is, I don't believe that that's all that God has for us. The arts, volunteer work, ministries, music, cooking--any of these activities add to our being better moms and wives. If we don’t take care of ourselves and build up ourselves in the midst of taking care of our family, our family won’t be taken care of to it’s fullest.

So I have just made up my mind to watch only 1 hour of television a day. For some of you, that’s not difficult, but for me, that will take some will power. Now, I won’t have any excuses for not reading, not studying the Bible, not pursuing some creative art form, not getting enough sleep and so forth. This is the beginning of a new era! Then in the process, perhaps I’ll have more activities to post about! Maybe at some point, I’ll be able to cancel our cable and save some money! Well, at least until Project Runway’s new season comes around—then I’ll have to reactivate it again.