Make Family Great Again

In: 1. I always want to speak the truth, use scripture and let you decide

a. Nun calling a taxi in NYC. If your Catholic and single

b. There are four things that always tell the truth

1) Small children

2) Drunk people

3) Yoga pants

4) A Mirror

c. I thought the dryer made my clothes shrink. Turns out it was the refrigerator

d. Last summer I almost got a tan from the refrigerator light

2. I try to preach about 25 min something that is relevant to your life true to scripture

a. A GOOD Sermon should be like a woman's skirt; LONG enough to COVER the SUBJECT and SHORT enough to CREATE INTEREST

3. A little boy was walking down a dirt road after church one Sunday afternoon when he came to a crossroads where he met a little girl coming from the other direction. 'Hello,' said the little boy 'Hi,' replied the little girl. 'Where are you going?' asked the little boy. 'I've been to church this morning and I'm on my way home,' answered the little girl. 'I'm also on my way home from church. Which church do you go to?' asked the little boy. 'I go to the Baptist church back down the road,' replied the little girl. 'What about you? ' 'I go to the Methodist church back at the top of the hill,' replied the little boy. They discover that they are both going the same way. So they decided that they'd walk together. They came to a low spot in the road where spring rains had partially flooded the road, so there was no way that they could get across to the other side without getting wet. 'If I get my new Sunday dress wet, my Mom's won’t be happy,' said the little girl. 'My Mom'll tan my hide, too, if I get my new Sunday suit wet,' replied the little boy. 'I tell you what I think I'll do,' said the little girl. 'I'm gonna pull off all my clothes and hold them over my head and wade across.' 'That's a good idea, 'replied the little boy. 'I'm going to do the same thing with my suit.' So they both undressed and waded across to the other side without getting their clothes wet. They were standing there in the sun waiting to drip dry before putting their clothes back on, when the little boy finally remarked: 'You know, I never realized there was such a big difference between a BAPTIST and a METHODIST

4. I just wanted to get you laughing

5. If I had it to do all over again- Laugh more, have more fun

a. We can get so caught up in life we forget to enjoy the journey

b. The best trips are the ones where you are not in a hurry to get there and have time to stop along the way to see something new

c. Painted desert, petrified forest, Grand Canyon, Hoover dam, Las Vegas, Lake Tahoe – California (enjoy the journey)

6. Laughter and Joy are good for us

a. Proverbs 17:22 A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones

1) Healing- When we laugh, it doesn't just lighten your load mentally, it actually induces physical changes in our body. Laughter enhances our intake of oxygen, stimulates our heart, lungs and muscles, and releases endorphins in the brain. Laughter can raise our pain threshold, improve glucose tolerance, improve our immune system, relieve stress and lower blood pressure.

b. Joy, is the flag which is flown from the castle of the heart when the King is there

c. Nehemiah 8:10 The joy of the Lord is our strength

d. Psalm 16:11 In His presence is fullness of joy

7. The default for most families is Dysfunction- dis-function to dat-function

a. Christian families cannot default to the typical American way of life—we must fight for better habits

b. So much more good help for parents there these days (books, websites, apps ) Older generation turned out well- As a child I saw Tarzan almost naked, Cinderella arrived home after midnight, Pinocchio told lies, Aladdin was a thief, Batman drove over 200 miles an hour, Snow White lived in a house with seven men, Popeye smoked a pipe and had tattoos, Pac Man ran around to digital music while eating pills that enhanced his performance & Shaggy and Scooby were mystery solving hippies that always had the munchies- and we turned out normal

c. We created a resource page (QR Code=picture, App-Sunday)

9. Kids need stability, consistency, feeling safe/secure

a. One of the best thing you can do for your kids or yourself is having a healthy marriage

b. There is no hiding from your family; kids notice everything. They see how we talk to each other when we’re tired. They notice if we hold hands while we’re driving, and they also notice when we snap at each other while we’re loading the car. They watch the way we say “I love you” and the way we say “I’m sorry.”

c. A whole lot more is CAUGHT than is TAUGHT

d. The little things we habitually do in front of our kids are an enormous part of the marriage legacy we leave them. That should not a burden, but a gift and an opportunity

10. Bill Chapin told the story of doing the church bulletin and writing that a couple was going to be “united” in marriage but he got the “i” in the wrong place, it said “untied” in marriage

a. The difference in our marriages being united or untied is based on where we put the ”i”

b. Everyone you add to your life slows you down- spouse, kid, another kid

1) It fights with our selfishness

2) It reveals our selfishness

c. Most of the bad parenting we do is because we are selfish tired don’t feel like it

1) So we let a screen babysit them expect the school to teach them in the church to make them spiritual

2) It is our responsibility. Everyone and everything else is supplements to what we’re already doing.

b. A healthy marriage requires unselfishness

c. Having healthy children requires unselfishness

11. Intentional time

a. Time is our greatest gift. Kids spell love T.I.M.E.

b. Time with our kids is short- Parentcue.org- Parent Cue app (countdown) (Sr-90, Fr 1,185) Be intentional

c. If you raise your children, you can spoil your grandchildren. But if you spoil your children, you’ll have to raise your grandchildren

12. Vote for the family 2024- make family great again

13. If I got to do it all over again – plan more fun, laugh a lot more

a. Build some fun, relaxation, Sabbath into your family

b. Refill daily, Refresh weekly, Reconnect quarterly, Retreat yearly

c. Marriage, Family, relationship with God

I. REFILL DAILY

A. Daily time with God

1. Matthew 6:11 Give us today our daily bread

2. Proverbs 8:34 Blessed is the man who listens to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway

3. Luke 9:23 If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me

4. One thing we can all do today to be a better spouse, parent, employee, person is make a daily appointment with God

B. Daily time with each family member

1. One on one time – intentional

* Refill Daily

II. REFRESH WEEKLY

* Jesus would get alone and pray- all night, withdraw, on a mountain

A. Date night/Friend night

1. Spouse- dinner, activity

a. Find a sitter (Youth group, family) (Donna, Kathy Gleason- Kings)

b. Discussion starters

· What are you dreaming of for the future?

· What’s one thing I could do to make their life easier

· If we miss the dreams of our spouse, or misunderstand them, we almost guarantee grudges, pain and fights

2. Children

a. Something fun to do with each family member

1) Meal, video/ball game, practice outside, Burger trip

3. Friends

a. Give your spouse a night to do something with their friends or get out of the house

b. To hide, work on their computer, shop, go drive, stare at the sky, or whatever else it is they need to do to feel like a regular human being again

c. Stay at home mom- feel like an adult again

B. Fun things to do

· Alpaca farms in Newcastle, Mustang

· Amusement Parks Six flags trips/Hurricane Harbor/Frontier City

· Arcadia Round Barn

· Backyard bonfire with S'mores

· Baseball games in Bricktown

· Berry Picking at Agape House Berry Farm in Mustang or Buffalo Creek Farm

· Bike riding

· Boathouse District- rafting/slides/zipline

· Bowling

· Bricktown

· Camping (including backyard camping)

· Car Wash- Let them help wash the car at home

· Celebration Station/incredible pizza/Heyday

· Coffee date, we go for coffee, buy the kids a snack and play a card game

· Cooking and baking together

· Craft kit

· Disc golf

· Escape rooms. Etsy- print it out has saved us money

· Fishing

· Float the river

· Games- Board games/card games/puzzles

· Golf- par 3, mini, top golf

· Hiking

· Hunting

· Ice Skating

· Ifly indoor skydiving

· Jenks Aquarium

· Kayaking

· Lake days

· Laser tag

· Martin Nature Park

· Museums (Sam Noble, OK History, First Americans, Osteology, Railway, Banjo)

· Myriad Gardens

· Manicure/pedicure

· Outdoor Picnics at the park or in the backyard

· Orr family farm- Glamping teepee they have.

· Pickleball at Chicken n Pickle

· Pops in Arcadia

· Progressive dinner

· Rattlesnake hunting

· Restaurants

· Roller Skating

· Salt Plains, digging for crystals

· State Parks- Little Sahara, gypsum cave, robbers cave, waterfalls

· Take the dog for a walk

· Family movie night

· Thunder game/sports/hockey/local sports at univ/baseball game downtown

· Trampoline parks

· Volunteering together

· Wheeler Park (Downtown OKC) games, hammocks, Ferris wheel

· Wichita Mountains (hour drive) walking, exploring, buffalo’s, long horns, prairie dogs, lakes, passion play set, Meer’s Restaurant

· Wooleroc

· Zoo

App- 1000 Hours Outside app (Jeff Tacie Dreessen)

Talking points cards- around dinner, in the car

Mobile phone jail

Summer of fun (Robbie Kerry Shuck)

* Refresh Weekly

III. RECONNECT QUARTERLY

* Jewish feasts spring, summer, fall

A. Weekend get-a-way with your spouse

1. A day trip somewhere with the family- medicine park, Dallas, Tulsa, Bricktown

2. We need to breakaway before we breakdown

a. Mark 6:31 Then, because so many people were coming and going that they did not even have a chance to eat, he said to them, "Come with me by yourselves to a quiet place and get some rest” Come apart before we come apart

b. Even if it cost money it is probably a better investment in your family than what you are spending money on.

3. Parenting check-in

a. What are the kids going through? How are we responding?

b. What is one thing we need to get better at? Our kids?

c. Stay on track with your goals

B. How do you stay connected to your children?

1. What are their interests?

2. What is their love language? (gifts, acts of service, quality time)

* Reconnect Quarterly

IV. RETREAT YEARLY

A. Family vacation

1. Goal is time together, experiences (in that order)

a. Mark 3:14 He appointed twelve that they might be with him and that he might send them out to preach

2. If it’s about money, it doesn’t have to be expensive

a. State parks, tents, sandwiches

b. Having fun with your family is about the time you're willing to spend; not the amount of money you have to spend.

* Retreat Yearly

Cn: 1. I planned events for students, why not family

2. God created a plan for us to know he loved us and to bring us joy through Jesus

3. Our families, spouse, kids are worth the effort, time, money

4. We’ll look back and wish we did

5. Resource page and stuff in the coffee shop (devo book, parent books)

Al: 1. Salvation- Most important relationship- God wants to spend time with you

2. Pray as families around altar (by yourself- pray over your relationships with God)