My heart and spirit was deeply dissatisfied. I needed something more from this hamster wheel we called life.
One fall evening, after our dinner meal I looked over at my husband and I asked a loaded question,
“Are we any different than our unbelieving neighbors? If so, can our kids see that difference?” He was a bit caught off guard. My question was not an accusation pointed at him but a sincere concern and desire to evaluate what we had been doing and where we were headed with our little Tuten team.
Too often we run around stressed out and overwhelmed trying to do everything under the sun to create an environment where our children will flourish but what they really need is a few key things. Once we discover those few key things, we can focus on those and keep doing them over and over again thus creating rhythms that help our family flourish and function as a team.
Your Turn
Now it’s your turn. I will ask you similar questions,
“Is your family any different than the world they are immersed in? Do you and your spouse find yourselves approaching family life from a different view point? Do you find yourself going from one stage or phase of life into the next hoping one of these days you’ll do more than just survive? Maybe your beliefs are different from the world around you but the lines have gotten blurry in how you live out those beliefs in the little things?
Let yourself reflect on these questions for a moment. It’s not time to point the finger at your husband who ignores you plea to lead family devotions or at your wife who can’t seem to control her screaming. It’s a time to evaluate your own heart, your values and ask yourselves– How would our family life be different if we lived out what we said we believed? So you can make a change and leave a legacy worth passing on from one generation to the next.
Is it too late?
You maybe thinking, “It’s too late for us! We have gotten used to our way of doing things so why go changing things now.”
Please don’t believe this lie! The enemy would like for you to stay right here in this lie.
I don’t know what brought you here. But you are here and that tells me two things about you: You’re brave and you are resilient.
Instead of just letting life continue to happen to you, you’ve decided to show up and make a change. Talk to your kids about why you’re wanting this change. Tell them — “I’m taking this ‘course’ because along the way things got hard and I made some mistakes but I’m learning that things can be different. I’m going to show up and do my part. This is me showing up and being resilient even when it’s hard.
Resilience is the ability to recover through hard stuff. I want you to remember that your mom isn’t perfect but she’s resilient and she’s got Jesus on her side. We are going to baby step our way to grace by leaning on God instead of our own doing and understanding.”
A family that’s rooted and grounded in God’s love will not easily crumble. Cultivating a culture of connection and faith in your home will not only impact your children but for generations to come.
Let’s dive into our Connected Family Bootcamp!
How it Works
This Connected Family Bootcamp will allow you to focus on a few key things YOU have identified as important in your family as you talk and work through the five conversations.
Here’s how it will work: Starting on October 22nd, for 5 days I will email you the conversation topic, activity and details. You’ll have a week to go through the conversations and activities with your spouse or confidant. You can do it at home after the kids are in bed or when they are occupied. I will discuss some of these conversations on my website but the worksheets and videos will only come via email.
All for FREE!!!
For a limited time I’m offering the Connected Family Bootcamp free of charge!
You can register to join in the fun from now until October 21st at 7p.m central by subscribing HERE!
On October 22nd, we’ll get started!
My hope is that your family will discover the joy of being deeply rooted and grounded in your faith and as a family team.
The 5 Conversations
In the five conversations, we will discuss topics such as:
Identity, Values, Mission Statement, Rhythms & Rituals, Boundaries, Faith, and Culture.
If you’re doing this course with your spouse I highly recommend you go look at your calendar now and set aside a time for you to work on this together when your kids are preoccupied or not around. I personally enjoyed setting these conversations up as dates. I know going out is not always possible so mix it up. No matter if you go out or stay home and work on this after the kids go to bed or while they watch their favorite show (no judgement here) just make sure you carve out time for it and schedule it in your calendar.
You do not need to do this with a spouse but if you live under the same roof it’s important that you are on the same page so I highly recommend you spend sometime chatting about each conversation with each other.
