March 17, 2020

Weekly Reflections – Intentional Families III

INTENTIONAL FAMILIES

This is the fourth weekly reflection in a series on “Forming Intentional Families.” We continue addressing each of ten tenets over the remaining eight weeks. The producers of this program wisely wrote, “Intentional means that we do more than just react to life. Instead, we must create a vision, make purposeful choices, and then decisively take action to make our families all that God desires them to be.” Can you choose to be intentional when it comes to your family?

Blessings and peace,

Chaplain Allen
chaplain@nationsu.edu
chaplainscorner.org

TENET 3: Lead Family Prayer and Teach the Faith

1. Set aside time each day for family prayer, for intercessions, for thanksgivings, and for the reading of the Bible.
2. Attend church every Sunday as a family.
3. Lead your children to desire commitment to Christ through baptism.
4. Every home should have a Bible.
5. Equip yourselves by growing in and learning the Bible.
6. Education in the faith by the parents should begin in the child’s earliest years.
7. The role of parents in education is of such importance that it is almost impossible to provide an adequate substitute.
8. It is within the family where children are raised and formed as human beings. The parental role in this human formation is governed by love, a love which places itself at the service of children, to draw forth from them the best that is in them and which finds its fullest expression precisely in the task of educating.
9. The family is the “first school.”

“…do not provoke your children to anger, but bring them up with
the training and instruction of the Lord.”  (Ephesians 6:4)

The Ten Tenets of the “Forming Intentional Families” program.

1. Set family priorities.
2. Share family meals.
3. Lead family prayer and teach the faith.
4. Manage/limit media intake.
5. Control pace of life.
6. Forgive easily and often/ask for forgiveness.
7. Encourage active listening/open and honest communication.
8. Schedule family fun and play time.
9. Teach/model responsibility and accountability.
10. Acknowledge and share our gifts and talents.

Source: This program was developed over several years by the St. Laurence Pastoral Council (distributed April 2019) in Sugar Land, Texas.

Note: The opinions expressed in this Reflection are intended to be those of the author alone based on his understanding of the Bible and how God works with his people.

Read more reflections, Forming Intentional Families III, Share Family Meals