Time for Hobbies - I'm too busy

There are a few things that keep me busy and I will list them first. This is just to give you an idea of what little time there is in a 24 hour period.

There is my job - 8.5 hours a day + overtime and every other weekend [overtime]
There is Family - I just had a father daughter day a few days ago and a father-son day also [spent a few hours with each of them] and some time in the near future there is a date night with my wife;
I am in my 3rd week of class at Liberty University [only 3 classes away from my 4 year BS in Multi-Disciplinary - Major Religion, Minor Computer Management Information Systems].

Speaking of Religion - I am head pastor at a small start-up church [Grapevine Community Church] which includes creating and preparing for my teaching. I am also co-Leader for a Celebrate Recovery group and I teach there as well as head up the Newcomers group every Monday.

This weeks hobby is Soap making.  I've had many friends over the years share their soap making projects.  Some smelled great, some not so much.
Check out this book for more ideas.

I am going to start a bucket list for hobbies here in the near future and this one will be near the top of the list. Some of my friends were able to make a little money on the side. If you are wondering, Yes I did purchase once or twice.

Blessings

Tthese are some of the things I like to do when I can take a breath and sit down and relax. Kick the shoes off, rub down the dawgs, grab a blanket and do the thing you like to do most.

1 I like to read. Interestingly enough I struggled with this through first grade. I remember looking up at my mom and my teacher and listening to them talk about how I was struggling and that the teacher thought it was a good idea to keep me back a year.

Over the summer I was taught to read by the nice older couple next door. The husband used my interest in chess to teach me to read and the wife used cookies. Over the next few years I discovered Sci Fi and Fantasy and I read like crazy. Anne McCaffery, Robert Heinlein, and C.S. Lewis became my close friends.

2 Website Stuff.
This started as a hobby for me over 10 years ago. I started with Frontpage and slowly learned how to build websites. I am up to four websites and am slowly building up to running my own business [maybe I should have listed this up at the top. . . scratches head], anyway - I also took a class as part of my degree that strengthen some of my knowledge base, but I find that I actually learn more by trial and error. I learned a lot by working on my Squidoo sites and using www.w3schools.com.
And yes, being a Squidoo Lensmaster and building these sites is a hobby [though I'd like to make more money at it. . .business?]. Check out my Free Website Content here.

3 Gaming.
I also enjoy play video games. This has been an on going hobby since the first time I saw Space Invaders on a friends TV when I was about 10 years old [about 30 years ago] and I have played off and on ever since. Due to time limits I have to be very selective.
For the XBox there is Halo Reach. This is the first Halo game I've played [due to some reservation on the violence].
For the computer there is Guild Wars.
Both of these are limited time wise and mostly I spend time with my kids while I play.

4 Movie Watching.
This is also a family event for the most part. We pick out a movie, get some popcorn, and start watching. After the movie we discuss what we liked and didn't like about the movie.
Also, after church we have been having a movie fellowship once a month.
I enjoy almost all types of movies, but my main interest is in Christian themed family friendly movies. My favorite Christian movie is Flywheel followed with Facing the Giants.
Check out My 21 Favorite Movies site.

5 Writing.
A friend and I started writing together about a year ago. My friend, Rory, had been writing for his Scribe for Jesus blog and I had been writing essay's for my school assignments and both of us had been writing down ideas for books. One day we started talking about our ideas and decided to work on them together. We finished up our first book [outline and main plot themes] and brought in a third writer to flush out the content. We are in the process of outlining and plotting our 2nd book.
We are learning a lot about co-authoring and working at this as a team and I have really enjoyed the process.

B ack to the other reason to help the busy person to find a hobby.
Are you a want to be Hobbyists with out the time?
My biggest advice is to start something however small or non time consuming and begin there.
I know it sounds simple, but list all the things you have on your plate and see if there is time to add in a hobby.

Suggest some ideas below and take a look at some of my ideas [I will add in a new idea once a week] listed below to help you develop you hobbyist potential.

Arts and Crafts.
Nothing like getting some craft paper, glue and some scissors and going to town.
Through some paint and brushes and learn to express yourself in a health way.

However you start out, taking some time to put the images in your head down on paper is a good starter hobby. After a little bit of work and some time you just might find the artist hidden inside.
I have managed to do this once in awhile and it can add up to some interesting results.

Squidoo Sites that demonstrate some hobbies.
In my some of my spare time today I spent time looking through some Squidoo sites and discovered a theme.  I realized that all the sites I looked at could be considered hobbies.  So in no particular order here as some sites to look at. In considering what you'd like to do in your spare time add these to the list.

How To Make Marbled Acrylic Skins - this demonstrates an interesting indoor hobby that could be used for the whole family.

Hoop Dance - A potential hobby and healthy at the same time.  the site is more about interesting videos about dancing, but the underlining theme is to take up the activity.

Science Skills - Originally an idea for home schooling it can easily be transformed into a hobby and it gets you outside.  Which can be a blessing

365 Grateful (things) - Photography is always a cool thing.  Trying to capture memories and great places has been the goal of many people.  This site points to a hobby activity that will literally take a year to finish, but may only take a moment a day.

I will continue to visit other sites and add them to this list.

Cooking.
Watching cooking shows can motivate the average person to increase their cooking skills.

Shows on the Food Network like:
Iron Chef America ~ http://www.foodnetwork.com/iron-chef-america/index.html
The Next Food Network Star ~ http://www.foodnetwork.com/the-next-food-network-star/index.html

Wet my appetite and allow me to dream about being a chef.