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Family has always been very important to me. When our children were teenagers and my husband and I were separated, we did not want our connections with one another and sense of “family” to deteriorate. So Peter and I instituted a weekly family Sunday night dinner which has continued for the last 14 years.
Children are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from Him.
Psalm 127:30 (NIV)
Our hope is that our children and grandchildren will all want to spend time with us. Not because it is a duty. But because they enjoy our company.
So how do we create an environment that is welcoming and fun?
We talk to them and show our interest in the things that are important to them. Now this isn’t always easy. For instance learning all about Pokémon and what they can do and how to catch them on Pokémon Go. This takes intention. An intention to create relationship.
Putting aside our chores and “to do” list and investing time in having fun by playing with children and grandchildren. We can push them on a swing. Play “What’s the time Mr Wolf?” Teach them to ride a bike. Go to the pool or beach together. Play dolls or tea sets. Or perhaps introducing children to games like Memory, UNO, Yahtzee, Monopoly, etc. Patience is required on our part to instruct. Peacefulness is needed to manage the noise level, especially with Yahtzee.
When we speak and respond we do so with love and kindness.
Now I can’t say I’ve always met these standards. Far from it! However, over time I believe my patience is increasing and I am becoming wiser and more in tune with the Holy Spirit. If we focus on our goal to create and maintain good healthy relationships, we can take deliberate actions to achieve this purpose.
As parents and grandparents, we dearly want our children and their families to thrive and experience the love, joy, peace, companionship and hope that we have in Jesus. We want to model Jesus to them.
Families are extremely complex. Each has their own culture. The way individuals in families communicate and interact with each other is unique. I’ve blundered a lot and learned the hard way how not to communicate about God’s kingdom. My excitement and enthusiasm to share the love of Jesus have unfortunately, backfired more than once. But how do we help them see this?
Firstly, we pray that our children and their family members for 1000 generations would know Jesus intimately and accept Him as their Lord, Saviour, teacher and friend.
He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?” They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”
Acts 16:30-31 (NIV)
Secondly, we refrain from preaching and lecturing. This tends to turn family and friends off of the gospel and breeds annoyance with us.
Thirdly, we don’t hide our faith. We live it out in how we speak and behave, demonstrating love, peace, joy, mercy and humility.
Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
1 John 3:18 (NKJV)
When they ask questions about our faith, and they will, we answer honestly and to the best of our ability. We do this, mindful not to push them as that may cause them to backpedal. We may have the opportunity to pray for them.
I am lucky to have been blessed with a great friend and mentor. She welcomed me into our church via phone during COVID times and she has nurtured our relationship ever since. I have learned a lot from her. We have great conversations and encourage one another in the Lord.
This friend has an amazing testimony of how Jesus came into her life and then prayed every single member of her family into the kingdom of God. Her testimony gives me great hope – as Jesus did that for her, He will certainly do it for me and my family.
Recently, a good friend of mine gave me a scripture to pray over my family.
When Lot still hesitated, the angels seized his hand and the hands of his wife and two daughters and rushed them to safety outside the city, for the Lord was merciful.
Genesis 19:16 (NLT)
The Lord is merciful. He responds to our prayers. He can and does send his angels to draw our family and friends out of darkness and into His glorious light.
I hope this blog has blessed you today and given you hope for the future of your family and friends. Please share it with anyone you think would be blessed by it. If you would like to subscribe or comment, please fill out the section below. Alternatively, if you would like to message me directly, you can contact me at admin@jesus4generations.com. God bless you!
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