Healthy Families

P.O Box 1540, Albany Western Australia 6331
Phone: (08) 98 418 418
E-mail: abl-alb@omninet.net.au

Healthy Families
With thousands of couples a year experiencing divorce, and countless other families feeling heartache and anguish stopping just short of divorce, we need all the help we can get for our families. However, it takes more than money to solve the problems of homes and families. In fact, some of the wealthiest and most prominent people in Australia are those whose family failures are most publicized. So if money is not the answer, what is? Well, in answer to that question, I realize that not many people are going to jump on the religious bandwagon as the answer to family ills. However, I believe that genuine Christianity and proper application of Biblical truths do have something positive to offer because they call us back to the foundation principles upon which family life must rest. Therefore, with that though in mind, I'd like to share with you today some ways we can draw our family closer to God. First of all, we should consider Throwing out the TV Dinner. If it's true that the family that prays together stays together, it's also true that the family that meals together heals together. Unfortunately, one of the precious things our pressure cooker society has stolen from us is time around the dinner table where family members come together in a relaxed setting, where everybody has the opportunity to tell how their life is going. Friend, it's time to recapture the family meal. Perhaps you're asking "How often?" Well, I'd say as often as possible. But even once or twice a week is better than what's happening in too many families. Something else you might consider is this, if your children are old enough to walk, they can help in the meal preparation. It can start with helping set the table. Even if you have to use unbreakable plates and cups at first, it's worth it. On top of this, if the non-cooking spouse can boil water and open a refrigerator door, then the cook can ask for help and expect to get it. Setting the table and preparing a meal together is also great "basic" experience in coordinating family activities. And by developing a plan that works for your family, you can go on to organize shopping trips and even holidays with a lot more efficiency and enjoyment. My next suggestion is, when you eat: make the landlord leave. What I mean by that is, turn off the TV; because this new landlord, this new master of the house, will become a tyrant if we let it. What else would we call someone who moves into our lounge room, talks all the time, never listens, is free to change the subject, and tells you what you have to do, be or buy in order to become acceptable? Friend, mealtime must be for more than just filling up on food. It's an opportunity to share by asking simple questions. For instance: How was your day? What did you do at work or school? How are you friends doing? How are you doing spiritually? Or does anybody need help with homework or household chores? In many ways, communication is to the family what blood is to the body. It is the fuel that makes it run. And just as when doctors find infection or illness in the body, they often use the blood to transport antibiotics in an effort to make the whole body healthy. So communication can also be used the same way, to produce and keep a family healthy. In fact, history clearly indicates to us that for centuries, in virtually in all cultures, mealtime has offered the capacity to be a holy time, a season for building trust, intimacy, love and fun. There is no doubt that the uncertainty of our time has been devastating to the traditional family structures. Yet there are encouraging evidences that the family has a new lease on life. And, for the good of our nation and world, it must! And I say that, because a society depends upon stable people in order to accomplish its work and execute its political and scientific tasks. And people are only stable when they grow in an atmosphere of love and order. They have to know what to expect, and they need the reassurance of a responsive concern from others. These are the gifts bestowed upon us by our families. Therefore, when we stop to think about that, a healthy family is not an option for a society. It is a life-and-death matter! Friend, does your family hurt? Does it suffer from severe problems which seem to have no end - no solution? If so, then you're not alone. And the good news is - help is available! Today, I'd like to offer you a FREE booklet which has been written especially to help struggling families grow stronger. Entitled "Five Steps You Can Take to Help Save Your Family", it's a virtual "how-to" manual for families facing a variety of different problems. To receive your complimentary copy, just write to me at: P.O. Box 1540, Albany, W.A. 6331. If you prefer, you can Telephone me on (08) 98 418 418. Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.au Good families don't just grow - they are cultivated.

Healthy Families

With thousands of couples a year experiencing divorce, and countless other families feeling heartache and anguish stopping just short of divorce, we need all the help we can get for our families. However, it takes more than money to solve the problems of homes and families. In fact, some of the wealthiest and most prominent people in Australia are those whose family failures are most publicized.

So if money is not the answer, what is? Well, in answer to that question, I realize that not many people are going to jump on the religious bandwagon as the answer to family ills. However, I believe that genuine Christianity and proper application of Biblical truths do have something positive to offer because they call us back to the foundation principles upon which family life must rest. Therefore, with that though in mind, I'd like to share with you today some ways we can draw our family closer to God.

First of all, we should consider Throwing out the TV Dinner. If it's true that the family that prays together stays together, it's also true that the family that meals together heals together.

Unfortunately, one of the precious things our pressure cooker society has stolen from us is time around the dinner table where family members come together in a relaxed setting, where everybody has the opportunity to tell how their life is going.

Friend, it's time to recapture the family meal. Perhaps you're asking "How often?" Well, I'd say as often as possible. But even once or twice a week is better than what's happening in too many families.

Something else you might consider is this, if your children are old enough to walk, they can help in the meal preparation. It can start with helping set the table. Even if you have to use unbreakable plates and cups at first, it's worth it.

On top of this, if the non-cooking spouse can boil water and open a refrigerator door, then the cook can ask for help and expect to get it. Setting the table and preparing a meal together is also great "basic" experience in coordinating family activities. And by developing a plan that works for your family, you can go on to organize shopping trips and even holidays with a lot more efficiency and enjoyment.

My next suggestion is, when you eat: make the landlord leave. What I mean by that is, turn off the TV; because this new landlord, this new master of the house, will become a tyrant if we let it. What else would we call someone who moves into our lounge room, talks all the time, never listens, is free to change the subject, and tells you what you have to do, be or buy in order to become acceptable?

Friend, mealtime must be for more than just filling up on food. It's an opportunity to share by asking simple questions. For instance: How was your day? What did you do at work or school? How are you friends doing? How are you doing spiritually? Or does anybody need help with homework or household chores?

In many ways, communication is to the family what blood is to the body. It is the fuel that makes it run. And just as when doctors find infection or illness in the body, they often use the blood to transport antibiotics in an effort to make the whole body healthy. So communication can also be used the same way, to produce and keep a family healthy. In fact, history clearly indicates to us that for centuries, in virtually in all cultures, mealtime has offered the capacity to be a holy time, a season for building trust, intimacy, love and fun.

There is no doubt that the uncertainty of our time has been devastating to the traditional family structures. Yet there are encouraging evidences that the family has a new lease on life. And, for the good of our nation and world, it must! And I say that, because a society depends upon stable people in order to accomplish its work and execute its political and scientific tasks. And people are only stable when they grow in an atmosphere of love and order. They have to know what to expect, and they need the reassurance of a responsive concern from others. These are the gifts bestowed upon us by our families. Therefore, when we stop to think about that, a healthy family is not an option for a society. It is a life-and-death matter!

Friend, does your family hurt? Does it suffer from severe problems which seem to have no end - no solution? If so, then you're not alone. And the good news is - help is available! Today, I'd like to offer you a FREE booklet which has been written especially to help struggling families grow stronger. Entitled "Five Steps You Can Take to Help Save Your Family", it's a virtual "how-to" manual for families facing a variety of different problems. To receive your complimentary copy, just write to me at: P.O. Box 1540, Albany, W.A. 6331. If you prefer, you can Telephone me on (08) 98 418 418. Email: abl-alb@omninet.net.au

Good families don't just grow - they are cultivated.