Telling and Writing Your Busy Family’s Story
The most important book in the world is the Bible. It is God’s love letter to us and it is full of thousands of little stories. Our story is the living continuation of those stories. We were given the Bible because it is our history, guidebook and launching pad for writing and living our family’s story. God cares about your family, just like he did for the ones in the Bible, and your story impacts not only your family, but friends, neighbors, and generations to come.
If a member of your family has a detrimental role, recast them. This video clip has dramatically changed many families.
- Kids remember family vacations for a lifetime, take them to new places and let them have new experiences.
- Kids remember bedtime rituals their whole life and often repeat them. Engage, embrace and initiate meaningful bedtime rituals, even for the big kids. It looks different, but let them know, really know, how precious that they are to you. Teens, struggle with depression and feelings of alienation, this is not the time to stop telling them about their important and powerful role in your and your family’s story. Reinforce the positive role that you see them in and not a negative role that they may have crept into.
- Kid remember meal time rituals. Create wonderful memories for your kids by just making meal time a celebration of your family. Tell stories. Share food and memories. Three or more sit down dinners a week make a difference in the way that we are wired as a family
- Look at birth, Christmas, and other meaningful pictures and videos every once in a while.
- Take pictures of milestones
- Make memories by sharing your time and experiences
- Sports, music, dance, and other extrcirricular activities are wonderful, but don’t let them take over and derail your story.
- Stop texting when you can talk to your family. Have phone free zones and times. Decide these things as a family, so everybody can be involved
- If possible, have the grandparents tell stories at holidays and get togethers.
- Your family’s story is always being written even if you are not the one writing it.
- Stay connected to your extended family when possible
- Be ridiculous and Laugh
- Make a time capsule
- Hand write, and physically mail letters to one another.
- Teach your kids that life is not always comforatable and perfect and that there will be awkward moments. Share and embrace those moments at home. Sahre a time when an awkward or uncomfortable moment turned into something great.
- People have three zones, comfort, stretch, and panic. Get kids out of their comfort zone, and into their stretch zone. This is where they learn the most about themselves and what they are able to do. Going overboard leads them into the panic zone, so get to know your child and learn how to stretch them without going too far.