Elizabeth and I have now been in our modest home now for a little over three months. We have since been blessed with an adorable daughter that we love from the very depths of our hearts.
Elizabeth has posted on her HOMEBIRTH EXPERIENCE. If you have any questions about it she will be happy to answer your questions. You can either post your questions under that blog entry or you can email us directly : )
Now that we seem to be finally settling in to our house, my question to you is this, What are your family's Christian traditions? With this I'm not talking about holyday traditions, but rather the day to day traditions. For example praying before a meal as you give thanks to the Lord for providing and blessing you. That is just one example.
I was not raised in a home where we belonged to a fellowship. I can remember going to church when I was very young, but I think we stopped going on a once-every-now-and-then basis once I was about eight. That being said, I can still remember us giving thanks at the dinner table. My family still does this, but only on holydays at formal family dinners.
As the head of my household it is my responsibility to set the standard for my family. Having not been raised by a godly father, nor having been raised around one, I am desireful of examples of how to be one. I know that it is my responsibility to instill in my children habits that will lead them in a
healthy relationship with our heavenly father.
Personally I try to maintain a personal tradition of reading ten chapters a day from the word of God, sometimes I don't succeed, but the wealth of learning is rewarding daily. I'd prefer to read five in the morning and five in the evening, but I usually have to read them all in the evening. Being a stay at home father has changed my schedule significantly. It typically takes about an hour, but sometimes less to read my quota.
Some people say they couldn't do that or that they don't have the attention span for it. I'll admit there are times I have to read a verse three or four times before I really begin to understand what it says. It's easy to skim over verses just doing a cursory reading, because in reality we don't really understand what is being said. I am guilty of this when it comes to books that have a long line of genealogy or even the book of Romans for example. The way that Paul phrases so many of his ideas in that book just leads me to scratch my head. I will admit there are times where I have read entire passages in that book several times, just to be left with a vague idea of what he was trying to convey.
This struggle to understand is worth it when I consider an eternity with our heavenly Father.
It also feeds my brain for a day of pondering the Word of our Lord!
So help me out, what did your family do on a day to day basis when you were growing up? What does your family do today?
What are ways that a father can build up his family on a daily basis? Did your father do something special?
I am asking you to respond. Write as much as you choose. It is all for edification. Glory be to our Lord, our Savior.
A petition from the McCartan family
Here is a photo of us just weeks before Abigail was born.
Be productive in reading the Word of God. It will make you wealthy, healthy, and wise.
Recognizing that this is older post, some of the practices that we have as a family, besides regular, consistent, church attendance are:
ReplyDelete1) We sing a mealtime prayer together.
2) I catechize my children every second evening before their bedtime. While there are many fine catechisms out there, we use the "Children's Catechism," which is a simplification of the Westminster Shorter Catechism. While "simple," the questions and answers are also profound.
3) On those evenings where I don't catechize, I read to them from a children's bible story book.
I wasn't raised in a Christian home, so I can't look towards the practices of my father as an example of how to raise godly children. So, I'm doing my best, making mistakes along the way, and hopefully creating a pattern that my children will later be able to look back to in raising their own children.