Communication in the Home (Part 3)
Let me give you a few items to consider about your week or month when it comes to your time with your young person.
- Have Family Devotions.
This is one of the most important times that you can have with your children. If you say you love God and you never read the Bible and pray as a family but instead, you watch television and sporting events, then what is the priority in your family? We must make an effort to read the Bible and pray with our family. Dad must be pro-active in the area of Bible instruction. While a youth group and a strong church are very important, parents should not outsource their teenager’s spiritual development to the youth group alone. I love youth groups, and I have been involved with the youth of our church for over 25 years! I still love the excitement and energy that a youth group can bring to the church. Our church youth group has been a huge help to my own children. They have been motivated to serve the Lord and have grown in their maturity in the Lord; however, it is still my job as a dad to sit down and deal with the spiritual direction of my children.
- Have Family Meetings.
Besides family devotions, there should be times where you sit together as a family and talk. This could be a family dinner, a family outing, or a family vacation. All of these are family meetings, but there should be times where you sit down and talk about things that are going on in society, in school, and in your church. I believe that sitting down and eating dinner a couple times a week, as a family, is very important. Many scoff at this and say, “This will not make that much of a difference.” By itself, maybe not, but combined with many other items that we have mentioned in rearing our young people, having family dinnertime is important. It is a time where Dad and Mom and children are all together and life is calm and the family can interact with one another
- Have Family Outings or Activities.
Many may think this means spending lots of money, but that is not what I am talking about. For about 17 years now, we have made a practice of having a family event or activity almost every week of our children’s lives. If I had planned on spending money for every event, I would be in the “poor house.” Family events for smaller children can be going to a park, playing ball in your backyard, playing board games, even cleaning the yard together. As the children get older, you may find that doing something that costs a little money is fun; however, if you have a limited budget find things that do not blow your budget. You will find that some of the things that cost the least are the most enjoyable.
- Have Family Vacations.
Some may dread this aspect of spending time with their young people. Often this is because a parent has not spent any time in disciplining and teaching their young person how to behave around others. Going on vacation, for some families, means spending time with a self-centered, ego-maniac. This would be torture, but if you have worked at bringing up your children in the nuture and admonition of the Lord, you will find having an extended time with them is enjoyable. Also, there are many activities that having a little more time together will help. You can take a historical trip, a camping trip, an overnight trip, or an adventurous trip. There are so many things you can do together, and you will find that planning and working together towards the trip helps build strong relationships in your family.
- Have Family Church Attendance.
Even though church attendance is last on the list, it is certainly not the least on the list! I believe that going to church together is very important to the proper spiritual communication of a young person. As a dad, I am sending a large non-verbal message of where I believe God should be in their life. Church attendance should not be an optional item in the home. It should be a staple for the building of my family’s spiritual life. How important is it that you attend church as a family? I know many folks who claim the family is more important than the church but, after time, they have lost all of their children. The family and church are important in my home. There should not be a conflict.