Family First

Bill and I have four kids. Elizabeth is 17, Murron is 7, Uilleam is 5, and MacAulay is 3. A nice size to some and a big family to others. Having grown up as the 13th child in a family of 15 kids I have to laugh in protest. But we certainly are busy and anticipate even fuller schedules as the kids get older. Elizabeth, for example, is involved on our church's youth group so she is committed every Friday night.

Church, for that matter, is a big part of our family's activities throughout the week. Whether Bill is taking part in cleaning the church or other work, or I am leading the worship ministry or joining the ladies for fellowship, we could easily have something to do every day of the week. That sometimes puts a strain on the family unit, though, especially if we haven't connected as much. We have heard similar stories from others in our church and that's how Family First Fridays came about. Bill and I launched this monthly event in September where we show a family friendly movie and it has become very popular in our church. Our family has enjoyed it greatly.

More recently we have come to realize that our family needs a family night of our own, each week. We looked at our weekly schedules and concluded that, for the time being, Thursday nights are it. It's something so important to me that, a few weeks ago, I had to fight for it as time was getting away and bad attitudes were threatening to mess it up. I went mother bear! So, within moments we were all settled around the table playing Chutes and Ladders, and teaching lessons on winning and losing. We have watched a movie together, had dinner out, and played games. The kids enjoy it and we all have fun and laugh a lot. And, not surprisingly, we've grabbed opportunities to spend family time other days of the week. It is our hope and prayer that, along with chores and devotions, our kids leave home with a storehouse of memories of these special moments at home.

Glory