Happy Post Labor Day

I hope that you had a fun and safe Labor Day holiday. Most people spend their holidays with family and friends. Mine was no different. In fact I was able to travel to Nebraska and be there for my sisters wedding. Throughout the weekend I was able to sit back, observe and enjoy my family. I just wanted to offer up some observations to you all.

  1. Your place in your family

 

This one I’ve known about for awhile now, but I was able to see it in full effect this past weekend. Whether you’re the drunk uncle at every family gathering, the dancing child, the silent one or the religious prayer warrior, we all have a part in our families. It might not be defined role with a title and it may change as we grow older and new generations come behind us, but each person is needed and makes the family unique. 

 

  1. Love and Laugh

 

What makes families so great is that you’re able to love each other through all of the ups and downs of life. It’s that love that makes the family unit stronger. Will there be arguments and disagreements? Absolutely. Those things that you argue about today will be the things that you’re able to laugh about a year from now. Laughter has been medically proved to be beneficial for your health. Laugh together with your family!! 

 

  1. Everything isn’t meant for Social Media

 

This past weekend was yet another reminder that we don’t need our phones to enjoy life. Life is happening all around us. We can get caught up in posting about the things that we’re doing rather than enjoying the events. Every once and awhile it’s good to not post anything, put your phone down and just enjoy the moments. 

 

  1. A group of dancing kids makes everything better

 

This one is just fun. At my sister’s reception, there wasn’t a better moment that when the DJ plays the kids favorite songs and they start dancing. You can’t help but to smile and cheer them on. Every adult that seems to have forgotten to just have fun and not care about what other think it back to being a child again. From the latest dances to the ones that are just pure energy and movement. It’s always a good time. 

 

These were just a couple of things that I thought about this past weekend. I pray that you’re holiday was great and that the rest of your year is filled with Love and Laughter. 

 

Discussion Question:

What did you observe from your family this past weekend?

Family Roles

You don’t choose your family. They are God’s gift to you, as you are to them.–Desmond Tutu Click To Tweet

Each family member is important and each member has a role to play. The roles are important and valuable. A lot of the time we don’t think about what each person brings to the family unit as a whole. 

My parents got divorced when I was a young man and I remember the impact that it had on my family. It affects each person and there is a hole that is left in the family dynamic. It can be a lot to take in and process.

There is a picture online that I really like that pictures the dynamics of a family and the roles that everyone has. I want to break down the picture and talk about the roles of each. 

Biblical View of the Family

  1. Family: Christ 

This is the first umbrella. He covers the entire family. Everything centers on His Word. God’s love covers us and as it covers us individually it covers our family unit. His Word guides our steps and it protects us. 

  1. Family: The Husband

The husband is under Christ, because the husband should be looking to God for his family. In the picture you see that the husband’s role is to protect the family, lead the family and provide for the family. These are all great, but there is a way to do them that is true and genuine. 

Protecting the family is a physical, emotional, and spiritual responsibility. Abuse can happen in many forms and the husband’s role is to be be out front protecting the family. 

Leading the family is a great responsibility. Leading is never a “do as I say” thing. True leadership is servant leadership. Learning how to help your family achieve their dreams and goals. 

Providing for the family is something that we can automatically assume is a financial responsibility. 

  1. Family: The Wife

Following The Husband is The Wife. The wife’s role is to comfort, teach, and nurture. I think that the picture leaves a little to be desired about the role of the wife. While a wife does provide comfort, teach and nurture there is more that she does. 

Many of the things that the husband does for the entire family the wife does for the children. She does protect them, she also leads them and provides for them. 

There is a lot of fluidity between the husband and wife roleshusband and wife roles. You don’t have to look far to see how they can cover for each other. Every single parent household has a parent that is providing both roles for the family. 

  1. Family: The Children

The child’s role in the family is defined in the picture is to love the parents and obey the parents. While that is true, children should also be able to dream. Children should also challenge their parents, not in a disrespectful way, but in a way that should push the parents to be better. 

 

Discussion Question: 

What are your thoughts about the picture of the family?

 

Family is Important to God

Have you ever wondered why family is so important to God. From the beginning of the Bible, you can see that God wanted to be able to enjoy the benefits of family. Following God’s example, we should value it too. 

The family unit is a part of our lives that we don’t regularly attend to. While we plan for a lot of things when it comes to our social life and our career life, when it comes to our family there can be a lack of planning. 

In recent years there has been more of a push to have balance in life. People are recognizing the value of family. They don’t want to work 60 or 70 hours a week. There are too many stories out there of successful people who worked so hard, but in the process they lost their marriages, families, health or a combination of things. 

We can plan everything in our lives, but still leave our family out Click To Tweet

Why work so hard to achieve a financial or career status and get there not have anyone to enjoy it with?  The family unit is important for 3 reasons.

 

  1. The foundation

 

Our families are foundational to our lives. When everything can seem like it is going out of control, your family can serve as an anchor in the storm. Christians are often referred to as the Body of Christ. Showing that we are all connected. 

 

  1. Support & Celebrate

 

We know how valuable a support group can be. When we need support to get through a difficult situation our family members tend to be the ones to pick us up. The same can be said of when we celebrate significant moments in our life. Think of the milestone birthdays, the promotions, the bonuses, marriages, children being born and all the things that are important to us. Who are the people that are most likely to be there and celebrate with us? Family. 

 

  1. God at the Center

 

When it comes to organizing and evaluating our lives, it makes it easy to compartmentalize everything. We can treat our lives like rooms in a house. One room is our career.  A room for our family. The basement is where all the things we don’t want to deal with go. There’s a room for our emotions and there is a room for God. 

What we have failed to realize is that God is in every room. He is the foundation that our house is built on. God doesn’t want to be regulated to just one room. He wants to be involved in every area of life. 

 

Discussion Question:

Why is family important to you?