Alexander Maclaren writes: "Unless religion is communion, it is nothing." True Christianity is a relationship with a person, Jesus Christ, but it is also relationship with one another.Paul wrote in Romans 1:12: “That I may be comforted TOGETHER with you by the MUTUAL faith both of YOU AND ME.” Ou faith weakens on our own but as we share and communicate together, our faith grows stronger.
Family life is togetherness. It is relationships. They take time to build. If we don't make an effort to keep the family relating together, it is easy for everyone to start going their own ways. The family becomes fragmented instead of being built together.
Of all the animals God created, He chose to call us His sheep. Sheep have a flock mentality. They cannot survive on their own. They are only content when in the flock. Psalm 107:41 tells us that God makes "families like a flock." He wants us to be together.
A wonderful way to fellowship together is at the family meal table where we encourage discussion and heart and soul dialogue together.
I hope you have the same rule that we do at our family table that no one is allowed to bring iPhones or iPads to the table. I cannot think of anything ruder than people texting or checking their messages while sitting with the family. It's bad enough seeing families do this at a restaurant, let alone in the family home.
We sit around a table for the purpose of being able to look at one another in the eyes as we share together. The table is not only a place to eat but “face to face table fellowship.” Direct the conversation at the table. Ask the children questions. Think of a subject to talk about.
Think of something special to do at your family meal table tonight.
Blessings from Nancy Campbell
P.S. If you need some ideas for topics to talk about at your dinner table go to the Above Rubies website for DINNER TIME CONVERSATIONS.
Family Meal Table | Dinner Time Conversations
This is under the FAMILY MEAL TABLE heading where there are so many articles about the family meal table. You’ll love to gradually read through them all. You’ll be very inspired.
PICTURE: Yes, they are one family, The Cameron family.
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What makes does a door swing open? It's the insignificant hinges that we hardly ever notice. And yet without the hinges the door cannot open or close. And so it is with our daily life. It cannot function without the seemingly common and insignificant things of life.
Only one week to go to determine the course of this great nation. Oh, dear families, I trust you are praying. I trust you are meeting daily as a family to pray for this nation and for these coming elections.
My last post to you was from Way’s translation of Titus 2:3-5. Here is something else I noticed. I was struck by how Way's translation exhorts wives "to be amiable and submissive to their own husbands."
Jean Marie writes:
I love the Arthur S. Way's translation of Titus 2:3-5 where it tells the older women their responsibilities: "They should be teachers of virtue, qualified to school in self-control the young women, to teach them to love their husbands and their children, to be discreet and chaste, to recognize that their sphere is home, to be amiable and submissive to their own husbands, so that no slander may assail the Word of God."
When God first got a hold of my heart completely at 17 years old, He changed me from the inside out. My attitudes changed as this new life of Christ began to unfold in my life. I saw all things He created as if it were the first time. I couldn’t get enough of His presence. At 17 years, I spent all free time and weekends soaking in the presence of God, saturating myself in His Word, and praying for hours upon hours. I couldn't wait to be with Him in the secret place every day.
It’s so easy to get burdened down with negative thoughts, isn’t it? If we don’t discipline our thoughts they tend toward self-pity, “poor me” attitude, selfishness, and even thoughts of God that are not worthy of Him.
Dear ladies, as you are aware, I love to send out a picture to you with every post I write. A picture is worth a thousand words! But it is not always easy to find the right picture and as I look for pictures there is often a problem with copyright.
In order to counteract distractions this we must get into the habit of becoming disciplined and focused. How can we FOCUS? I'll share an acrostic with you, and as I do, I'll point three fingers back at me!
Three of our grandsons singing "On Christ the solid rock I stand, All other ground is sinking sand." They loved to sing with all their hearts.
Wow, wouldn’t your children think it was was cool if you could give gold to them every day? Dear mother, you have the power to do this. You have gold in your hands. As you and your husband read God‘s word to your children each day, you are giving them gold. Gold that is eternal. Gold that will lead lead them on a path of success. Psalm 19:10 says that God’s words and more precious than much fine gold. They are sweeter than honey dripping from the honeycomb. The most important thing you can do each day is to dispense the goal of God’s word to your children. Don’t let other things interfere. Make it a priority.
It grieves me when I hear people say they are angry with God. Really? Who do we think we are to be mad at Him? He is the God of the universe, the Creator of the world, the Creator of our bodies, the God who judges righteously and perfectly, the God who loves us with an everlasting love, the God who works everything out for our good even when we can't see it, and the God who sent His only Beloved Son to die and save us from our sins.
Are you a grumbling mother or a praising mother?
Yesterday I shared with; you seven adjectives of how God wants us to fill the earth. But there’s more. Not only does God give us these adjectives but He also paints pictures for us on this subject. He wants us to feel His heart about this subject. God promised the patriarchs of old that their descendants would be like . . .
As I read the Scriptures, I invariably find that my thinking is quite opposite to God’s thinking. What should I do? I’ve got to change my opinion to God’s way of thinking. I think that many who call themselves Christians don’t really believe in the God of the Bible after all. It is so easy to believe in a God of our own imagination. Unless we constantly fill our minds with God’s Word, we can be deceived. The other day I was checking out God’s attitude toward fruitfulness. I notice the Bible is far removed from how even Christians think today. The average number of children per family in America is only 1.9 children per family but God’s vision is much bigger.
Some people allow themselves to get eaten up inside with bitterness, hurt, and jealousy etc. As mothers, we cannot allow these attitudes in our lives for they destroy us and our entire family. We must keep our spirits whole--pure, blameless, and continually forgiving.
Do you remember the account of Jesus when he was only twelve years old? The family came to the Feast of Passover at Jerusalem. On the way home, along with all the other hundreds of families returning from Jerusalem, his parents noticed Jesus' was missing. They immediately returned to Jerusalem, but it was three days before they found Him.