In the words of the great philosopher Aaron Tippin "You've got to stand for something, or you'll fall for anything . . ."
Realizing this, Matt and I sat down several months ago and determined our family's priorities. These are the things we'd like our family to be known for, the things we'd like our children to feel secure in, the "non-negotiables" for our family regardless of how busy we get.
1. Faith
- Attend church regularly
- Attend small group regularly
- Pray together as a family
- Read Bible stories/devotionals together 3 times a week
- Serve/help others
2. Family
- Spend regular time with extended family
3. Familiarity
- Dinner is eaten as a family
- Dinner at home 4 times per week
- Normal bedtime before 9:30
- Mom and Dad both take part in bedtime the majority of the time
4. Fun
- Family fun activity 2 times each month
- Parent/kid date once each month
- Exercise/activity daily
If you haven't done this, I suggest you sit down with your spouse and determine the things you believe should define your family. It has done wonders for our family communication and keeping us on the same page.
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You've had me singing that song all day, so I guess I'd better leave a comment!
It's great that you've actually sat down together and written these priorities down. Many people don't even think about these things. Those that do, usually keep them as a mental list but it gets dropped by the wayside or forgotten when they get busy. To have these priorities set ahead of time will help you to avoid many problem situations in the years ahead.
I'm proud of you guys!
I support the bedtime before 9:30 rule. We don't have kids but we almost follow this one anyway.