Goals: Something is Better Than Nothing
One Step at a Time
Often the things in daily family life can make a big, impossible-feeling mountain out of the ordinary.
The mountain of dishes.
The arguing children (again).
The requests for snacks three minutes after lunch is cleaned up.
The perpetual pile of things to take to Goodwill or sell on Marketplace.
Not to mention, the laundry piling in all the baskets. Dirty laundry waiting its turn in the washer and clean laundry waiting its turn to be folded.
Everything ordinary waiting for a turn for your attention.
But what if in the ordinary, there were not just the mountains, but there were also gems hiding not too far under the surface?
Here’s what I mean.
With a bit of intentionality, we can create “somethings” in our daily routines that will have a lasting impact on our children’s understanding of our family, our world, and our faith.
And before you freeze up (because that last sentence is wordy and intimidating), let me remind us of this:
Something is better than nothing.
One step at a time, we arrive at a destination.
(Or a sillier kid version: Could you eat an elephant? Sure, just one bite at a time!)
In other words, a simple routine that we do once or twice a week reflecting our family priorities is better than nothing.
If as a family, we decide to teach our children to have conversations with each other, then we can ask questions when we are all together for a meal. We’ve done everything from a question jar (variety of questions written on slips of paper) to asking the same question every day (“What was your favorite thing today? What did you not enjoy today?”).
If as a family, we decide that we will pray together to begin the day, then we put a simple routine in place to make it happen. It could be as practical as at the breakfast table or as silly as in the bathroom while we brush our teeth or as routine as on the car ride to school.
If at the end of the day, we want to speak God’s promises over our children at bedtime, we make that part of the routine. This is my personal favorite because as I speak God’s promises over each child, I hug them and watch their sweet faces melt in the good news of Jesus’ love and purpose for our lives.
When priorities become embedded into routines, those routines become habits, those habits become part of the fabric of our being, and therefore we are doing just what God has given us to do as families:
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength.
These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Deuteronomy 6:5-7
Notice the verses talking about how we teach our children come right after the most important commandment in the entire Bible (as quoted by Jesus in Matthew 22:37): Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and strength. These two concepts (loving God and teaching our children) go hand in hand.
Ponder that for a moment. Of all the grandiose ways that the God of the universe could teach us about Himself, He chose the family. The messy, noisy, constantly moving family.
How humbling, and yet how empowering! Those little messy moments that you decide will be routines for your family — those moments are kingdom builders.
Jesus said, “Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. Matthew 19:14
So here’s my goal for the New Year: Something is better than nothing in regards to kingdom building. I’m going to notice the little things, like conversation and prayer and God’s promises, that I want to embed in my children’s hearts, and I’m going to do something. Even if for awhile, I do it inconsistently.
Once a day is better than nothing. Once a week is better than nothing!
You get the idea.
Embrace the ordinary moments as opportunities to turn your attention to what is truly important.
Because that mountain of laundry is a reminder of the precious family that God has entrusted you with. And hiding in that mountain of laundry is a moment (or two or five) to fold with your hands and ask God from your heart:
What would you have me do this year that will have a lasting impact on the next generation?
Until next time,
ANOTHER great one!! Right on!!