Healthy Families and Spiritual Well Being

For mom, dad, and kids to have healthy family lives together, it is so, so important to attend to spiritual well-being and building your ‘house’ on the firm foundation of God-centered lives. How we talk with each other, what we think is important, and how we make the most of the moments of day-to-day life are all affected by having our relationship with God right at the front and center of our lives.

Make sure that YOU have a good relationship with the Lord!  You can’t help your husband, wife, children, or grandchildren if you yourself are far from God. This will affect all that you do.  Your relationship with the Lord is important!  He loves you!  His conquering of death and sin was for YOU!  He wants you to have an abundant life.  In an honest relationship with Him you must recognize and admit that you are not perfect.  Look to the Lord for forgiveness. Before looking at others problems, confess your sins.  In seeking to lead a God-centered life, make prayer a priority, look for Christian fellowship, take time to study God’s Word, and attend worship services regularly.  

Be concerned about the spiritual well-being of each member of your family.   One by one, pray for each member of your family.  Ask the Lord to help them to grow in God’s grace. Then tell them you are praying for them.  Try praying with them about their concerns.  Encourage them to rely upon God. Live your faith in the home. Forgiveness is an amazing thing. Forgive each other as Christ has forgiven you.

Faith conversations involve having children and other family members overhear us talking about God in our daily life.  If we don’t talk about our faith and how it is affecting our life, then how will people know it is important to us? 

As parents, you don’t have to have all the answers. But the children do have to know that you care about having God in your life.  Just talk with your children and help them see that the Lord is important. 

Family devotions or prayer time.   This is a great opportunity for growth as a team.  The prayer time can be written or shared prayer thoughts.  The important thing is to make a time to show that God is at the center of your lives and that you have opened up your hearts to approaching Him together.  This is very empowering to every individual in the family to uphold their part of functioning more Christ-like in the family team.  You can read a short devotion, read a few scripture verses, and maybe share a few thoughts or some encouragement about how to apply these in the days ahead.

Be willing to GROW. You are a work in progress.   Growth in a personal relationship with God involves changing some patterns of how we talk, how we react, and how we schedule our time.  Having God at the center means that we don’t have “me” at the center.  Remember, this can take some getting used to… but it is worth it.  As we seek to build our home life on the firm foundation of Jesus Christ, we will find purpose for living, a sense of freedom, a true peace inside, and a confident outlook at the days ahead.