One of the best ways I know of to become a joyful wife and mother is to spend precious time with your family. Understand the value of giving of yourself for them.
There are numerous studies out there that emphasize the value of having dinner together at the table every night. In a TIME magazine article they say that ‘Kids who dine with the folks are healthier, happier and better students.’ Kids who have family dinner together feel accepted and loved by their parents. They know that home is a place where they can feel accepted and be heard.
But having dinner together is just the beginning of things you can do together as a family. When the girls were really little and my husband worked at night, we would often go out to run errands during the day. It was a simple way to get us all out of the house and still accomplish all we needed to do. Doing things together was easier too – there was always an extra pair of hands if you needed help while in a store. And if the girls got maxed out with running errands then one of us could stay in the car with them while the other adult went into the various stores or stops. It seems like a funny ‘family’ thing to do – but we were all together, accomplishing things that needed to be done, working as a team – and that’s what family is all about!
Here are a few other ideas of things you can do together:
* play sports {even in your backyard is fine!}
* volunteer together
* do something outdoorsy like a hike or bike ride
* take up a family hobby like letterboxing or geocaching
* go to the playground or park
* play board games – make family game night a weekly thing
* plan meals, shop for food and then cook together
* do yardwork together – start a garden that you all work on, help rake leaves all together, have everyone help shovel and clear snow after a storm
* create traditions together – special places you go year after year like a favorite Cider Mill every fall or an Annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade every spring, or traditions that are centered around certain holidays like cutting down a Christmas tree every year.
* make birthdays a big deal, no matter if it’s for a child or adult – have certain traditions and things you do every time someone has a birthday, have everyone in the family make cards for the birthday person
* have family movie nights, make homemade pizzas and popcorn and smuggle up together – make ice cream sundaes for dessert
* READ together – which is always best done when all snuggled up together with blankets and pillows =)
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‘To us, family means putting your arms around each other and being there.’ ~Barbara Bush
Some times giving of yourself for your family means you’ll have to give up some things that you really want to do. It also might mean saying no to some things. Our girls are at the age where they are involved with many activities like sports and piano and church activities, but if we aren’t careful we would be out of the house literally every night of the week and weekends too! We have to make sure we have a balance of activities/sports and days where we’re simply at home as a family.
There are also things I’ve had to give up or say no to. At times I’ve been invited to concerts, parties or nights out that I simply knew I needed to say no to because it was the best thing for my family to have me home that night instead. It’s OK for Moms to get out and do things without their family, but we need to be sure that it’s not every weekend or every night or that it’s taking us away from our kids during those times when they’re home from school {too often}.
If we’re attentive to the Lord’s leading, He will help show us when we need to say no to things. Two years ago my oldest daughter got very sick the week before I was supposed to go away for the weekend for a ladies retreat. I has taken her to the doctor on the Friday and he assured me it was simply viral and she’d be fine in a few days with some rest. But my heart just didn’t feel right about leaving her – even though I knew she’d have excellent care with my husband and mom while I was gone. I ended up staying home from the retreat, though I admit I was somewhat bitter and sorely disappointed about it. Over the weekend she continued to decline and on Saturday night she slept with me and I couldn’t sleep all night as I watched her struggling to breathe and fighting a high fever which at that point she’d been fighting for 6 days. On Sunday afternoon I took her to the walk in clinic – my instincts were just telling me something wasn’t right. When they checked her in they were very concerned and rushed us right into a room. They did a chest x-ray and determined she had pneumonia and was a very sick little girl. Now I’m not saying that my Mom or Husband wouldn’t have taken good care of her, or that they couldn’t have taken her to the doctor – but I feel like the Lord just knows when a child needs their Mom and gives us all instincts to know when something is more serious than we think. I thank the Lord that I stayed home that weekend!!
Today’s Challenge is:
In what ways do you need to be more intentional about family time? Could you set aside some time this weekend for a family night? Whenever you do have family time or family dinners – make sure you do it wholeheartedly, disconnecting from all electronics and being fully there. You can find JOY in your family, by spending time created bonds and lasting memories together.
Perhaps some family dinner conversation starters would help? There are loads of great ideas out there for fun and conversation around the table – just Google it and you’ll come up with lots of ideas.
And just a reminder – today is FRIDAY and you only have until MIDNIGHT EST to enter my giveaway! Please click here to enter!
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