Resolutions, part 5, Family

Well it's taken over a month to get through posting my resolutions, but this will be the last post in the series. It will focus on our family and the things I'd like to see happen in 2011.

1) Go on more dates with Stephanie
It's not often that we go on dates. Some couples have scheduled 'date nights' where they go out for a night on the town. We've usually reserved some time together away from Justin and Katelyn from time to time, but I'd like for that to be more often. Some ideas are: going to a movie, going out to eat, going for a walk in the park, playing tennis, going to a play, staying home and watching a movie, and going camping. I hope to continually look for opportunities to spend some time together. It doesn't have to be a big production involving lots of money, it can be simple and inexpensive, but it won't happen if I don't plan for it to.

I think so many times married couples allow kids to become idols they serve and it destroys their marriage. We love our kids, but we need time to ourselves as well. It's because we love our kids that we will focus on our marriage, not only for ourselves, but for them as well. Going on dates will hopefully show them that marriage matters.

2) Have more 'bro time' with Justin
Okay, first of all, by 'bro time' I don't mean being friends and goofing off. I'm still his Dad and count as my ultimate goal to show him who God is. I am to be an earthly example of his Heavenly Father. I will fail often in that goal, but I will try hard and pray that God will bless my effort with fruit.

'Bro time' can be playing tennis, video games, watching sports on tv, shooting hoops, going to our annual GA Football game, talking with him about school, watching movies (we watched Top Gun a few weeks ago, had to fast forward through a few scenes though), camping, fishing, and other stuff that guys do. I've even thought about going to a flea market or auction with a $10 limit just to see what we could do for kicks. The objective is not to do stuff or get things, but to invest in our relationship. There are many things that compete for his heart, do you remember being a teen? I want to shephard him the best I can. Plus, Justin is an extremely funny kid and he's cool to hang out with.

3) Start going on dates with Katelyn
I've thought about this one for a while. I plan to start taking Katelyn on dates. It may be for a McDonalds happy meal or to the local park to feed the ducks. Time will fly by and before I know it I'll be walking down the isle with her. The thought of that scares me to death sometimes. Other times, I look forward to it. I pity the groom on that day. :) Seriously though, I want to be able to look back on the years when she was under my roof and be able to say that I was an example of the type of guy that I want her to marry. To look back and say that means that I need to take those steps now that will achieve that goal. We've done some cool stuff before from watching Disney movies to playing cards, but I want to take it farther. There's something about getting out of the house that changes things. I'm looking forward to it.

4) Memorize Bible Verses
In addition to my memorizing a book of the Bible (which is going great), we are memorizing a verse a week. We do this at the dinner table each night, well mostly each night, unless we forget. Children Desiring God has a set of cards called 'Fighter Verses' that we use. On one side of the card is the verse and on the other side of the card is a picture that is meant to help you remember the verse. Stephanie, Justin, and I have memorized larger portions of scripture, but have decided to go with the 'foundation' verses so we can involve Katelyn. We'll need to keep reviewing our verses or we will forget them. That's going to be our biggest challenge.

5) More Family Devotions
Over the years we've had different versions of family devotions. We've used some Josh McDowell resources that are more of a "what would you do" approach based on biblical principles. We spent a year in the Westminster Shorter Catechism going over questions and answers about God and man. We also spent some time in a Voice of the Martyrs book learning about Christians who were persecuted for their faith. While the book contained those throughout history who lost their lives, it also contained many are still living today. We often live in a Western Culture bubble and forget about that there are many areas where Christians aren't allowed to worship.

The new book we are using is called "Mighty acts of God" by Starr Meade. It takes us through the entire bible from Genesis to Revelation focusing on how God is redeeming the world that we messed up through Christ, also known as biblical theology. It focuses on who God is, what He has done, and what He is doing. It also has an emphasis on our response to God. So many devotionals focus only on 'doing' the right thing, but they don't talk about 'why' to do the right thing. It is only as we learn and believe the right things that we will be motivated to 'do' the right things.

We haven't had time to do as many devotionals as we'd like, but we've had time for tv and other stuff. Amazing how that works huh. Hopefully that'll change.


Well there you go. That's my family resolutions for 2011. If you noticed, each of these goals has a God pointed aim. My overall goal is to glorify Him in each goal. He is so good to me. My family is a beautiful gift he has given me to take care of and love.

No matter what God may bring our family in 2011, it will be for our good and for His glory. Whether it may be what we call 'good' or not, if it comes from Him it is always good. May we give him the honor and praise He alone deserves and live daily thanking Him for his Grace.