Serving God Together As A Family
One of my joys as a husband and dad is to find opportunities for our family to serve God together. At times, it can be a challenge considering our daughters are ages 5, 7, and 9. But how exhilarating when your child develops a heart that has a genuine love for others - particularly in our self-focused world.
We had three Saturdays in a row where our daughters were out in the neighborhood working alongside us and volunteers painting fences, helping seniors garden, cleaning up the new park, and more. We all got dirty and tired! What a delight to practice together what it means to live out Jesus' simple command to love God and love our neighbor.
We also try to enlarge Megan, Cady, and Grace's worldview by observing how others live globally. Our support of 5 year-old Leticia through Compassion International has made us aware of greater human need in Guatemala. Preparing gift-filled Christmas shoeboxes with Grandma to send to children overseas makes us realize (again) how much we have. Our friends, Keith and Sarah, had a weekly dinner of rice and beans to help their older sons, ages 2 and 5, reflect on the reality of how children in other parts of the world daily eat. Not surprising though, we still struggle with many selfish moments.
The Apostle Paul's words to "spur one another on toward love and good deeds" is beginning to take root in our family. We love it when our daughters challenge us to think less about ourselves, and more about others. But how do we spur our family towards a greater lifestyle of service? We're on a journey to figure it out together. Hopefully it will be a hallmark of our family and yours.
