Yesterday’s Family Meeting was the best and the worst all at the same time.  I was really excited for it!  We had actually put a time on the calendar, I had a new idea I wanted to try out, and the kids seemed to be paying close attention during the sermon.  We were going to nail our Family Meeting.

Until we didn’t.

Now, it certainly wasn’t a complete loss!  The time almost worked out, and my idea worked pretty well.  It’s just that it is so hard to get everyone on the same page at the same time.  I don’t know if it’s that way with your family, but it definitely was with ours last night.  It was almost as if Spencer and Eliana had met ahead of time and worked out a plan!  Usually, it’s Spencer’s mind that drifts in and out of our talk.  But, last night, it was Eliana’s.  I guess they just wanted to change it up a bit and keep us guessing…

Regardless, I have some great take-aways that will certainly help us going forward, and hopefully can benefit you all as well!

Family Meeting needs

Gather your family

Seems like a relatively easy thing to do, right?!? Especially our family of four.  But, for some reason, it was definitely a challenge last night! I was just about ready to call out a five-minute warning, when I heard Spencer’s trumpet.  Oh, my goodness.  It was like he had read my mind and had waited for the exact millisecond before the words would come out of my mouth! Since practicing his trumpet was a good thing, and Brad was relaxing for a bit after work, and I knew Eliana wasn’t waiting for us all at the table, I took a deep breath, and let that one go… As it turned out, we met about 15 minutes later than we had planned.  Not a big deal in the grand scheme of things.  (I am still really working hard on this – remember my post on flexibility?!?)

Gather your tools

One of the things that delayed our meeting was the scurrying to get everything they needed.  We ask our kids to bring their bible, notebook, and a pen to our Family Meeting.  Last night, it seemed like they had never heard of those things!  Even though I had given them the countdown to the meeting time, they still came to the table empty-handed.

So, one of the things I am going to do next week is to remind them of the things they need when I start the countdown.  This will, at least, help get them thinking about where they last had their bible, and get the mental checklist started.

Gather your thoughts

I had been wanting to create a sheet that could help the kids organize their sermon notes.  I realize they don’t take as many notes as I do, and sometimes it can be a challenge for them deciding what to write.  So, I created a note page for them to take to church.  On it, there are six sections – two to fill in during church, and four to fill in during our Family Meeting.

I already came up with a couple of things that needed changing, so I am sure I haven’t made the perfect tool.  But, it is definitely better than either

1.  very rambling and confusing notes
              or
2.  no notes at all.

What we learned

The first thing I learned was that I need to keep working on my flexibility.  Although I have a certain time-frame or schedule that I want to keep, there are three other people in the house.  (And, two are in or around the teenage years…) I thought I was doing better at this.  After all, we had our Family Meeting on Monday instead of Sunday, and I was OK with that!

Another thing we learned as a family is that it really helps to read through the verses from the sermon and to talk about them together.  Each one of us got something a little bit different out of what we heard on Sunday. By sharing our thoughts, it helped us better understand the sermon and what Jesus calls us to do.

In the end, I am really glad we set aside the time for our Family Meeting and had a chance to reconnect.  Just like I wrote in, “Family Meeting Update,” that connection definitely needs to be prioritized. By getting together and talking as a family, I feel like we regained some of our family intimacy that was lacking.  And, once again, Brad and I were impressed by our children.  How they learn, how they think, and how they love.  Nope, we haven’t mastered the recipe yet, but each attempt keeps getting better and better.  I can’t wait to try again next week.

Your thoughts?

So, have you tried having a Family Meeting, yet?  I highly encourage it.  Even after all the craziness and challenges, it is well worth it!  Please share your experiences below.  I can’t wait to hear from all of you!