Investing. It was a financial principle I was taught way back in high school and came to understand better in college. Investing is like paying it forward to yourself. Instead of going out to eat every Friday night, you save two meals worth of cash and stash it away. If you do that for a few months, you could have a weekend getaway instead. The main principle about investing I came to understand is that your money can work for you, if invested right.

While I regularly think about investing in terms of finances, the same is true of time. Where I invest my time today could pay dividends years down the road. This is especially true when it comes to time with my family. Even though I know time with my kids is an investment I still have the compulsion to make every moment intentional and planned.

But, in our effort to be intentional, we can sometimes lose the joy and the benefit of unintentional investment in our kids.

Craig Thompson

I don’t know about you, but I need that kind of reminder. Investing in our kids requires intentionality, but it doesn’t mean everything must be scheduled and planned out. This is the kind of reminder Craig Thompson gives in his article “Parents, Waste Time with Your Kids“. It’s a great challenge to my typical way of thinking.

While I don’t like the idea of “wasting” anything, this is one thing that I don’t think I will “waste” enough on. Enjoy the article, recover from the tryptophan, and be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s day!