Family Home Afternoon

I think it is important for parents to make a point to have faith-based discussions with their families, to teach them about Jesus Christ, to teach them values, to share their convictions, and to have a good time together. Unfortunately, my husband is not really strong in his faith, and it's hard for me to organize formal religious activities like weekly Family Evening Evening.

Last month, some time after a conversation we had about family home evenings, a friend from church came to our home with her family and they shared a lesson on prayer with my family (well, with me and the boys). Todd especially loved it. He loves reading and jumped at the chance to read the scriptures my friend had selected. The boys had fun doing activities that went with the short lesson. And, to finish the evening off, the boys were introduced to a game called "Don't Eat Pete." It is a fun little game that gives the boys an excuse to candy. Score!


A couple of days ago, Todd asked if we could have another Family Home Evening. I love it when children remind parents about what we should doing. I responded enthusiastically, and Todd got straight to work planning a lesson on the birth of Jesus Christ. I gave him some pointers about where to find scriptures that went with his lesson. He wrote out an agenda, drew a picture of the nativity and cut it up to make a puzzle, made up his own game, and selected a few songs for us to sing.

We finally got the chance to have our Family Home "Afternoon" today after church and lunch. When Todd was ready to start he told me that he really wanted Daddy to participate. What thrilled me almost as much as all of Todd's efforts in planning and carrying out this activity was the fact that Brett happily joined us. When Todd started reading the first few verses Brett asked me on the side, "Isn't this a Christmas story?" I answered that, yes, it was, but it's never a wrong time to learn about Jesus. And that was that. We continued with everyone having good attitudes, although Ryan was not still for more than 45 seconds at a time. The boys and I even played "Don't Eat Pete" a little later to finish off a great afternoon.

I am so proud of Todd and look forward to our next Family Home Evening.