Have Serious Fun

This blog is a part of series of blogs I’m writing on 11 Life-Changing Lessons on Leadership, Relationships and Personal Life.

Lesson Six: Have Serious Fun

One day our daughter, Heidi, came home from babysitting for some friends of Cathy and mine. In fact, they had been involved in my youth group when I was a youth pastor. Cathy and I were sitting down at our kitchen table doing bills, which is never a fun time. Heidi bounced into the kitchen, sat down at the table and said, “I love Scott and I love Anita! They have great kids and they are the best parents I know. They are so fun!” Cathy and I just looked at each other and smiled since that definitely meant we weren’t the best parents she knew, and we probably weren’t very fun in her mind.

Then she blurted out, “Scott and Anita told me you were their youth pastors and that when you were in youth ministry you were fun and funny.” The way she said it was like, “So what happened to you guys?” Ouch.

One of the most important lessons I have ever learned about my marriage, family and even in the area of leadership, is  that life is better when you have some fun. No one will always be in the fun mode. Stuff happens! But when you intentionally build fun into your life, things go better. I love the scripture that reminds us, “A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit saps a person’s strength.” (Proverbs 17:22)

How is the fun factor in your life? Your marriage? Your relationship with your kids? It seems to me we must choose joy and fun. It just doesn’t happen. Back to the Heidi story. The very next day I was shopping at a CVS pharmacy. I saw a refrigerator magnet that simply said, “Are we having fun yet?” I bought the magnet and put it on our refrigerator to remind me to make fun a part of my life. I love the words of Leonard Sweet, “For a marriage to sing and dance. For two people to make beautiful music together, they need to play not work at their marriage.” Wise words for all of us to follow.

Next Week: Lesson Seven: Practice Positive Adaptability