It’s almost time for the annual deck refresh. We wash off the deck and seal it. Deck furniture gets touched up with paint and the cushions are washed. We plant some pretty flowers in pots. After a couple of days, we have a beautiful, relaxing retreat for the warmer months. For years, this was a family project. We all worked together to make the work go more quickly and somehow managed to have a little fun in the process.
In fact, our family has had dozens of family projects. From creating a hurricane supply closet for an orphanage to painting church walls to washing the family car, our family has worked together many times over the years to achieve something. Sometimes it was something for our family. Often, it was something to help someone else. The end result in this case doesn’t matter as much as the process.
When your family works together on a project, your kids benefit in so many ways.
“Fine” That’s often the favorite word of the quiet child. If you have a quiet child, you may feel like it takes an enormous amount of effort to get him to speak a complete sentence, much less pour his heart out to you. Quiet kids can be male or female and any age, although parents seem the most frustrated trying to communicate with quiet teen boys.
Some of you are shocked to learn talkative kids exist. You may have a houseful of children who grunt more than they talk and think saying,”Nope” is exhausting. If you are raising a talkative child though, you may have days when you wish he were just a tad less vocal.
If you think about it, Christianity is about choices. When God gave us freedom to make choices, He also gave us the freedom to make good choices and bad choices. Sadly, most of us make more bad choices than good ones. It’s the reason Jesus had to die on the cross – for those bad choices that are sins.
Are your children popular? Unpopular? How many friends do they have? Are their friends encouraging them to do things they shouldn’t? Friendship issues often start in the preschool years and continue until long after your kids have grown up and left home. Your children’s friends (or lack thereof) and the quality of their friendships can cause a lot of drama and stress for your entire family.