THE GAME PLAN A husband and wife, according to a Dallas Morning News study, spend an average of 37 minutes a week in meaningful conversation. Thatās way down the list of things we do with our time. Letās seeā¦the TV alone gets 36 hours a week! I know men who spend that much time watching football on the weekends. And how much of our face-to-face conversation has now been replaced by texting? I read in Guidepost a while ago that 60% of a childās behavior and vocabulary are now learned through the computer. You thought we only had to worry about that on Lost in Space, āDanger Will Robinson, danger!ā Add to the mix, our culture and way of life is so fragmented. The family unit is rarely together, being pulled in any number of directions and the days turn to weeks and the weeks turn to months and the months turn to years and the next thing ya know weāre humming Catās In The Cradleā¦ How do we stop the madness? How do we make sure to safeguard our home and family from choking to death on our culture in crisis? The coach has a game planā¦(works for us!) 1. DEAL WITH CRISIS IN A POSITIVE MANNER! Ps. 61:2; Ps 142:6; Isa. 40:31 ā¢ Attack the problem, never the person. The devil loves to divide and conquer a home. You are all on the same team. Focus on strategies. Letās say, for instance, Johnny isnāt getting his homework completed. Letās first focus on the schedule. ā¢ Get all the facts. Donāt jump to conclusions or the worse case scenario. Wait for your emotions to calm completely down. Before you can solve the problem you have to find the problem! ā¢ List all the options. Try the problem-solving technique of working from an analytical approach. Again, it removes the emotions from the equation and allows you to be more objective. ā¢ Look for the positives in the problems. Yea, I know, sounds a lot like a Zig Ziglar seminar, but can I just say after my five year war with cancer, a tough situation gives us a chance to grow. A beautiful plant cannot blossom until it has had to fight through all the dirt to finally find the sunlight. ā¢ NEVER withhold love. The foundation of a Biblical home is unconditional love. Be honest. Be transparent. Acknowledge the problem. But never, never, never withhold love. ā¢ Communicate continually. Develop platforms of communications. Try to eat supper together as many nights as you can each week. Connect during this time, do not interrogate or criticize. Invest and build up and show genuine interest in those at the table. Take walks together. 1-2 nights a week at 9pm everyone shuts down for 20 minutes for a family alter, unless of course it messes up your watching NCIS or Dancing with the Stars. 2. SHARE THE SAME VALUES. Luke 6:31/ Matt 6:24/ James 1:22-27/ Prov.19:1/ Acts 20:35/ Luke 6:32-42/ Rom. 14:1/ Mark 11:25/ Lev. 19:18/ Matt.7:1-5 ā¢ I know this for sure, common values strengthen a family. Jesus first. Unconditional love for each other. Commitment to truth. The Golden Rule. Conflict resolution: right time, right place and right spirit. Model your values!!! 3. GIVE THANKS. ā¢ Our culture is all about entitlement. āI deserveā¦ā āYou owe meā¦ā The good old U.S.A. has a āgetā not āgiveā worldview. As a result, thankfulness is a lost virtue. I am reminded of Luke 17:15 āOne of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw Himself at Jesusā feet and thanked Him---and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, āWere not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine?ā God not only DESERVES our thanks, but He also DESIRES our thanks! IThess.5:18; Eph. 5:19; Phil. 4:4. If our focus is on appreciating what we have and giving others our love and kindness you can watch conflict and crisis take itās rightful place under the feet of Jesus. Husbands, you can change the entire marriage as well as disciple your children to be committed followers of Christ by adopting these family foundations. One day at a timeā¦
Posted on: Fri, 22 Nov 2013 09:30:16 +0000
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