Here we are, about to ring in another new year. The time between Christmas and New Years might be my favorite time of the year. For us it's typically quiet, reflective and hopeful. Although, I don't usually give much thought to New Years resolutions. Surprised? No, not if you know me. The reflective nature of this week is more natural for me and much less intentional than it probably should be. My friend Anne has written an awesome blog on reflections and the New Year (link below), so you should probably just go ahead and skip mine and read hers. Don't worry though, as titled, this blog is less about new resolutions and more about keeping up the good work of Advent.
The anticipation of a new year is different for me this year, somehow, and I think it's due to the momentum that is carrying our little family of four. Within all our lives there is an impetus that is propelling us forward into next year. As I choose to think on disciplines I'd like to begin and habits I'd like to end, I can feel our impetus resisting wanted change. Suddenly I feel sluggish, digging in my heels. In order to not to be too discouraged, I begin to think on how sweet this past season of Advent has been. Our time as a family in the word and the new habits we've formed this Fall are encouraging to my soul and I can see clearly the trajectory of our family discipleship strategy. This is like a breath of fresh air, knowing that there is a good habit within our home that needn't change. I actually noticed that many of my friends practiced family discipleship during the season of Advent. Because of this, I wanted to write up a kind of brief encouragement.
Here it is: Friends, keep up the hard and imperfect work that is discipling your children!
I think family discipleship is so prevalent during Advent because of the excellent resources that are available. There are tons of great and easily accessible plans for families to follow. However, Advent is over...so now what? You've created a habit, right? What do they say, "...21 days to create a habit"? Sweet! Habit formed! Now, let that Advent momentum carry you into the New Year in regards to family discipleship.
As a resource hoarder, I have a few ideas on where you can start and keep up that positive momentum. Listed below are some of them as you prepare for 2016:
- You know those Christmas cards you got? What if you prayed over a card a night? Maybe even write your prayer down and at the end of the week you can mail the prayers out to each family/couple/person.
- Try reading a Proverb or a (portion of) Psalm a day. Our readings of scripture are most successful during a meal, cause you know the minions sit still.
- There are great children's bibles out there. You can read a story a day. Some even have discussion questions for your older kids. Check out The Jesus Storybook Bible, The Gospel Story Bible , The Biggest Story, The Big Picture Story Bible,
- There are some awesome devotionals for families. Check out Long Story Short (Old Testament devos), Old Story New (New Testament devo), Exploring Grace Together, Mission Accomplished (Easter devo) and Dinner Devotions (365 short devos for meal time)
- So you're the Partridge Family and you want family discipleship through song. There such a thing! Check out Seeds Family Worship, Slugs and Bugs or Songs for Saplings.
- Stock up on some awesome children's books. Anything by R.C Sproul (that's right, he has children books!), Francis Chan has some good ones, There is a little series called Big Thoughts for Little Thinkers and our favorite truth centered children's book is called Fool Moon Rising.
Two things I have to remember: One, keep it simple. Two, even if it's simple, it will require effort and planning. If you don't have a framework for family discipleship yet, our church has some helpful direction here: Time, Moments, and Milestones
Let's ring in the New Year celebrating the work God did during Advent and carrying it on into 2016, yeah?!
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