Devoted to God

You've probably heard it said before, a family that prays together stays together.  What a privilege it is to be able to connect with our creator. To speak to the one who spoke us into existence and know that he's interested in what we have to say. 

What about God's unfailing word?  To be able to read a book of love letters that speak of our creator God that pursued us to the death. The death of His own son.  What a love story,  doesn't that just blow your mind! 

Now what do you suppose God feels when we come as a family unit, under his covering, and seek him out through prayer and his word? I think it's probably pretty special to Him.

I love this scripture an it's comparison... 
Psalm 1: 1-3
Blessed is the one...
 whose delight is in the law of the Lord,
    and who meditates on his law day and night.
³ That person is like a tree planted by streams of water,
    which yields its fruit in season
and whose leaf does not wither—
    whatever they do prospers.


When I think of a close strong family this is what I imagine...  a family that isn't uprooted during turbulent times but its roots are firm into a solid foundation receiving what it needs to thrive. The same way a tree is bound to have a storm come up against it, families are bound to face trials. 

So how are your family's roots?  Are they planted firmly and being well nourished?  Or are they dehydrating and withering?

Spiritual nourishment is found in devotion. 
A family devoted to God:

Puts him first.

Acknowledges who's the real boss of the home.

Makes decisions after seeking The Lord's guidance

Cultivates a home based on the laws of the Lord

They know their joy is in The Lord and 

Renew their strength in Him.

And when the storms come they are ready to face them.

Confession.  We don't always live there.  We want to, but at times we fail.  So what do we do?  We get back down (on our knees that is) and try again.

Family devotions are a great way to get your family staying connected to God  through his word as well as through prayer. They are also as unique as well... families!  

We've done them at the start of our day, the end of our day, during the day  and we've never been disappointed.  Whatever the time, God meets us.  And our days and nights are more peaceful.

We change the format of what we do, from time to time, to keep it from becoming routine.  Here are some ideas of what we've done:

Used devo books to guide us in keeping it interesting for the kids.

Read a chapter of the bible and discussed it.

Listened to a dramatized audio version and discuss it at the end.

Let the kids read scripture verses and allowed them to give a little 
message on how they would apply it to their lives.  (This one gets 
interesting and a lot of discussion comes out of it)

We also like to add praise time into our devos.  We sing songs we know from memory, use video tracks or the kids play the piano and guitar and we all sing along.

Devos can be done anywhere. In the family room, around the kitchen table, or outside under the stars. The choice is yours...get creative!

By connecting to the Lord and submitting ourselves to Him, we draw closer together as a family.  We experience ah-ha moments as we uncover God's truth for ourselves both individually and as a family.  

Family devotionals can never be replaced by church programs or school teachings.  As parents we have a God-given responsibility to train a child in the way he should go...  Proverbs 22:6 

What do you try to do to keep your family devoted to God?

Come Just as You Are

Have you ever been around a close family? They laugh, cry, share hugs and kisses. They are usually expressive with each other. They let down their guard and are vulnerable with each other. They don't try to be anything other than they are because with family we can be ourselves.

Do they always get along? No. Do they forgive and move on? Yes. The world has so many expectations of us that its nice to have a place of acceptance and abundant love despite our shortcomings.

By now you know your family's not perfect. But you love them anyway. And is there anything that could get between you and the love you have for them?

Not PMS, bad work days, or the teenage years.

Go ahead...Hug them, kiss them, forgive them.

Love them deeply so when the waters get deep in the trenches they know where to turn. They'll know who's going to receive them with open arms and a hug, no matter their condition. They'll know that, "this family loves you, no matter what... come just as you are."

Yet it all begins with us.  We're not perfect.  We make mistakes and need forgiveness.  Its Ok to be wrong as long as we make it right.  Our example of humility shows our family that we are in this together. Sometimes we need them to give us a hug of comfort. 

When my husband makes a mistake and wants to ask me for forgiveness, he calls the kids and asks for my forgiveness in front of them.  He doesn't do this to be showy, he uses it as a teachable moment to teach them that when we mess up, we need to make it right. I think its cute, because I love that he's man enough to say, "I messed up." He's OK being vulnerable in front of his family because he knows this is his safe place.  

Family accepts, loves, forgives, just as Jesus accepts us, loves us and forgives us after we come to Him, just as we are. 

Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.  

I love this quote that perfectly describes what family should be.
My goal is to live this out daily.

In this house...
We do second chances
We do grace
We do real
We do mistakes
We do I'm sorry
We do loud really well (we've mastered this part!)
We do hugs
We do family
We do love

What do you do to let your family know they can come just as they are?

Modeling Unity in Marriage

The first institution God created was marriage and sadly it is the most broken of all relationships today. Marriage takes work, add kids into the mix AND all of the responsibilities that come with it... and it can become difficult to prioritize our spouse.

Strong families begin at the core, with the husband wife relationship.  How do you relate to each other? What example of marriage are you giving your children? Children need stability and one of the best gift we can give them is stability in our marriage.

Our children need to see us loving our spouses, prioritizing them, and respecting them.  We need to model to our kids what we expect from them SO that they in turn will love their family, respect them and prioritize them.

For the sake of their relationship with their family now and their future spouse and kids.

Let's be real though, our spouses sometimes get our leftovers.  My husband and I are currently working on this because we have been guilty of putting other priorities first.  Kids, activities, housework, church, etc, etc, etc... leaves us no time for each other. Lately, we try to get away for an hour or so alone, for a cup of coffee (trying to make it weekly :)).  Its our time to reconnect and make it all about each other.  We call it our "day dates" and it makes a huge difference!  It all goes back to communication, doesn't it?

Unity in our marriage also shows the children that we (their parents) are on the same page.  Kids can smell an opportunity to manipulate and put parents at odds with each other in order to get their way.

In our home we have rules about this.  I will never go against my husbands decision or vice versa in front of the kids.  If we happen to disagree then we will discuss it...alone....not in front of the kids!

There have been many times that one of us has made a decision that has later on been changed, because after discussing it, one of us has seen a different perspective.  That's ok,  it shows the kids a healthy process of making decisions together.

Then there's also "the look." Do you have one?  Its that look you give each other when you don't agree but don't want to say it out loud.  In our house, my husband and I have full conversations with the look!  It works for us!

But life isn't always black and white.  Sometimes there are gray areas and somewhere along the line one of us needs to compromise. Learn to agree to disagree and respect each others decision. 

Mark 3:25 says,
If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand.

We refer back to God to help us make the decisions that are right for our family. One area we don't compromise,  our family values.  Its not about "me verses you"  but what's best for the greater good of our family.

How do you model unity in your marriage?