"30 Days of Family" Kicks Off! (Day 1-3)

This holiday season will be different.
And it's yet to be determined if that is a good thing...or a bad thing.

Last week I announced to my family we would be stepping up the efforts to make our family time a priority.  You can imagine the cheers and applause I received from the Bigs, who already complain we spend more time together than most families.  They'll thank me someday. Won't they?!

I'm calling it 30 Days of Family...Doing stuff together whether we like it or not.  The title is fitting, trust me.  And I'm willing to admit it may be February when we finally finish our 30 days. I'm packing light for that guilt trip. Each day we will do some activity together -- it may be something big, or something very small.  And because I believe we should never waste an opportunity to impart spiritual truths to our kids, someone in the group will be in charge of sharing a scripture or applying spiritual application to the event.

Starting this Thanksgiving when countless turkeys give their lives to usher in the busiest and most commercial season of the year, our team of 6 will make an effort to be intentional about growing our family.

Let's just hope this is half as good in real life as it is in my head.  Actually, I'd settle for a quarter as good.  :)

DAY 1:  Thanksgiving
Spending time with the ones we love most. Psalm 107:1 - Give thanks to the Lord, for He is good; his love endures forever.


DAY 2: Family outing to Dry Gulch 
This is a retreat center originally constructed to be an Old West movie set. Outfitted for the Christmas season, visitors experience a great display of lights, food and holiday festivities.  The narrow gauge locomotive train ride features a display of the story of Christ's birth and presents the gospel to visitors.  Check it out here. 

Day 3:  Prepare the house for the holiday season
We'll dig out decorations and put up lights, getting the house ready for December.  We'll talk about what we can do to prepare our hearts for Jesus.  The decorations and preparations for Christmas are fun but I want them to remember the real effort should be made in our hearts to prepare for Jesus.  We must be about the business of pursuing holiness -- conforming to the character of Christ, rather than the business of presents.

Check back for our family time activities!