Such a simple thing, yet so exciting.

My son loves his magnet calendar. This was the first time that he could somewhat grasp the significance of swapping out the one magnet that to him never changes: the year. But we erudite adults know better. We know how fast the years go by. 
 
I spent time over the past month reviewing our health care options for 2019, as well as budgeting out our financial roadmap. My wife and I also took some time to talk and pray about what our plans are for our boys, as well as what our own goals are for the year.
 
During our conversation, my wife reminded me of a wonderful three word summary describing different ways of how we can use our leisure time. Credit for the original blog post is due to Trevin Wax, Gospel Coalition contributor and Village Church pastor, back in May 2018.
 
The words are: Consume, CultivateCreate.
 
To quote Trevin’s definitions: 
Trevin Wax, on Consuming, Cultivating, and Creating
  • Consuming: the passive reception of entertainment. As consumers, we spend time entertaining ourselves through television shows, movies, video games, and so on. These activities demand little of us.
  • Cultivating: the intentional development of something. As cultivators, we engage in something that makes a demand of us. It can be the development of the mind through reading and study, or cultivating of a skill or hobby, or restoring a car, or playing a musical instrument, or working in the garden. These activities require mental or physical exertion as we make something of the world we’ve been given. In turn, the activities develop us.
  • Creating: the invention of something that did not exist before. As creators, we leave something behind for others to enjoy and benefit from. We might compose a piece of music, write a poem or story or article, or paint a portrait.
Consume
 
No doubt, there are certain situations where there could be some overlap. I’m thinking of taking a family vacation where there is (hopefully) cultivation of relationships along with some consumption and enjoyment of life. But, I think Trevin’s warning isn’t so much these crossovers, but the passive, mindless bingeing on hours of media, especially alone. Is anything being cultivated when this happens? What is improving?
 
I’ve certainly had periods of my life in each of these categories. And over the years my wife and I have enjoyed “bingeing” several shows together: Lost, Parks and Recreation, the West Wing, the OfficeThings we’ve been able to theorize about and laugh about together. We had a great time playing through the Witness. But I think it’s a different story if that is all we did and all we did together.
 
Cultivate
 
This is my wife’s word for the year. The idea here for her is to further develop and nurture things that currently exist: relationships, habits, family traditions, a neighborhood board game night (we’re trying!). 
 
Create
 
I’m excited about 2019 and ready to hit the ground running. I have a lot of ideas that I want to find–make–time for. A lot of it will be on this site. I’ve got plans for helpful budgeting and decision-making tools built into the site. Plans for fun analysis (not an oxymoron!) that hopefully will be helpful. More to come!
 
 Do you have a word of focus for 2019? Big plans? What are some of your goals?