WHAT DO YOU KNOW ABOUT YOUR FAMILY?

The parenting website All Pro Dad asked recently, “What do you know about your family?” For example, they asked whether your children know:
the name of your first pet and how you got it,
your favorite food when you were growing up and who made it for you, or
how much you made an hour for your first job?

On the other side, they also ask, "Do you know your children’s...
favorite holiday memory?
dream vacation spot?
current best friend?"

There are more of these. You can find them by pointing your Internet browser to: http://www.allprodad.com/playbook/viewarticle.php?art=386.

Now let me ask you: do your children (whether their young or grown) know:
the time you felt closest to God?
a time you felt God had abandoned you?
what you believe about heaven?

And/or do you know your children’s:
thoughts about God?
feelings about the church?
reasons for believing or not believing in God?

Some people believe that we ought to let our children come to their own conclusions about faith. In the long run, we really have no choice. In fact, many children rebel against their parents' beliefs in adolescence. But if they don’t know what you believe, and you don’t know what they believe, what is there even to rebel against?

As May turns into June, we find ourselves traveling between two parenting holidays: Mother’s Day and Father’s Day. This is a prime opportunity to learn from both your children and your parents what their faith means to them. Use this article as an icebreaker if this is new territory for you. Learn at least one new thing about a family member this week, and you will have started down the road to a closer, more meaningful relationship and probably a happier life for you both.