Warning!! Warning!! This post may be longer than usual. Read at your own risk.
Do you want to make a difference in your family? Do you want to have a home that exemplifies Biblical principles? Do you want to just do better? The answer to all of those questions starts with just one word. Time. You can’t make a difference in your family without time. You can’t exemplify Biblical principles in your home without investing time. You won’t ever do better than you are right now if you don’t take the time to do better. We will make our recommendations below but first, let me say something. If you are doing more than what we recommend, great. Keep doing it. But if not, you must at least do this much. If these requirements seem like "too much” for you to do, then, I will be honest with you, I’m not sure that there would be anything more you could gain from our ministry. If we don’t invest the time, then we have nothing else to invest. Time is where we write on “The Family Post” that we have been talking about. If we don’t take the time to write our own story, then be certain, someone else will write it for us. Here are our recommendations.
1. Set aside one “entire” day per month for family time.
This means that from the time you get up in the morning until the time you go to bed that night, it is all about your family. I know what you are thinking. “A whole day? Every month?” Yes. Trust me, we understand busy schedules. This will take some scheduling to make it work, but we must make it work. So go ahead and ask your next question… “What would we do for an entire day?” That is up to you. Go on a quick road trip. Go to the zoo. Go explore nature. Go on a hike and then a picnic. Take your kids hunting or fishing. Go to a state or national park. Go shopping. Wait… forget that. That’s a horrible idea. My wife made me say that. The point is to take an entire day. You might have to “mix and match.” Plan out your day so you don’t run out of things to do. It’s one day each month. Plan it out. Make it special. Take time to teach. Make memories.
2. Set aside one evening (at least 3 hours) each week for family time.
Your family needs you to spend time with them on a consistent basis. Take time every week for your family. Again, I know we are all busy. Sometimes the evening that we spend together changes from week to week. Especially as children get older, and get schedules of their own. Have a brief “Family Meeting” every week and set your schedule so that all of your family can be there. Make this evening special. It doesn’t have to be something “big.” But if you do it every week, it will be something “very big” in the lives of your family. I think it goes without saying, but don’t just spend these 3 hours watching a movie and playing on your phones. If you have time for a movie night with your family, then take it. However, don’t miss an opportunity to “do” something with your family. Go through old family photos. Cook a meal together. Play board games. Ride bikes. Play instruments together. Build a fort. Just spend time together.
3. Have a Bible time every week.
This is not church. Please go to church, but don't count it as your family Bible time. This needs to be a practical devotion, or Bible teaching each week from you to your family, from the Word of God. Now, if you are super spiritual and are doing much more than this, please continue. Praise the Lord for that. You are doing better than us. However, after talking with many families, this is one thing that is lacking in most of our Christian homes. Exactly what you need to do for this would definitely depend on the age of your children. We hope to have some more family devotion ideas for you later on. If you don’t know what to do, then just find a story in the Bible, and read it to them. It may seem like that is such a small thing, but a little bit of Bible is a big deal.
4. Pray each night with your family.
Consistency matters. Even if we don’t get a devotion or Bible study completed, pray. Every day, pray. It is a simple thing that should start when your children are babies. We have a note on our wall in our house that says, “The family that prays together, stays together.” We believe that.
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