Some time ago, (I wanna say November 30, 2008, but don’t quote me on that) our particularly awesome bishop got us all together and gave us a metaphor. He said it had been weighing heavily on his mind and he felt it really needed to be our ward’s focus. It was that our family’s spiritual table (I like to think of it as our family dinner table, at which we are able to feast spiritually, because I’m all about the food) has four critical legs it needs in order to stand:
1. Personal and family prayer
2. Personal and family scripture study
3. Sabbath day observance
4. Family Home Evening
It may have even been in that order. I’m not sure. But I do know this is something that I want. Well, apparently, I don’t want it enough, because it’s three years later and we’re slackers in all categories. Well, we’re good on the Sabbath – we attend our meetings and don’t shop or buy anything, at least. On the other three, we are not doing an-y-thing. Oh sure, there’s the usual excuses of “we really, really don’t have the time right now,” but our testimonies are such that we should really know that Heavenly Father blesses those that give their time to these things, such that there will be enough time for the other things, and to spare.
So here’s my vision. At 8:00 every night, we stop what we’re doing, get into jammies, brush our teeth, come downstairs, pull out journals, and read scriptures, each to ourselves, making notes as the Spirit directs (scripture journaling idea, particularly for kids, courtesy of Pinterest). Then at 8:30 we read together for ten minutes, say family prayer and the kids go to bed.
On Sundays at 7:00, we sing a hymn, say a prayer, and the lesson belongs to, get this, all of us. No big lessons – a lot of little lessons. Thoughts from the week of studying scriptures and journaling, ideally. That gives the kids a chance to participate, and Mom and Dad get a chance to share some things in our own hearts, without so much stress about preparation. Then we play a game and eat banana cream pie and Sprite (or the equivalent).
That leaves the first lesson to me, and if I prepare for it, they will come. My lesson will be exactly what I just wrote above, explaining the table, setting up the vision, getting everyone’s buy-in to the new format. That’s Day 1. Then Day 2 and from then on, we do it every day for the rest of our lives. Maybe it's that lifetime commitment that's really kept me from getting this going earlier. Sounds heavy, doesn't it?
