Early to Church

My wife is brilliant. She carried over a tradition from her family growing up to our young family. She labors to get our family to church 20 minutes before the meeting begins.

When she first proposed this practice to me, she suggested 30 minutes early but I was able to negotiate her down.

This has at least two wonderful effects. First, when we accomplish the goal, we easily find a bench big enough for us all to sit together comfortably. We are able to get settled with our 5 young children and really prepare for the meeting.

Second, it provides a safety valve for us that makes the morning less stressful for everyone. If we need to hunt for a missing pair of shoes, it only elevates our blood pressure half as much a it would if it was going to actually make us late to the meeting. If we are "really late" like we were today, we still get to our seats 5 minutes before the meeting starts.

I wouldn't want to apply this strategy to every meeting I have to attend, but it works especially well for a meeting that we attend together as a whole family.