Creating Family Nights – Making Your Home a Haven~Week 4

J.R. Miller says “The richest heritage that parents can give is a happy childhood, with tender memories of father and mother. This will brighten the coming days when the children have gone out from the sheltering home, and will be a safeguard in times of temptation and a conscious help amid the stern realities of life.”

 

This week’s Challenge is:

Keep your candle going, the music playing, and add some tender moments with your family. Have a pillow party in the family room and get out every blanket and pillow in the house and be cozy with the kids or your hubby! Even if you live alone you can do this. Enjoy a cozy evening of hot cider and caramel corn.  Moms, pull out a board game, a classic movie, hot cocoa and pop some popcorn. Give a 5 minute back rub to every single person in your house…and for a double challenge- try to give one every day to each family member!

During your tender moment with the family, ask them how they feel about this challenge. Are they enjoying it? Is it helpful? Is there anything they would change. Give your family listening ears.

One of the best memory makers for your children is creating family nights that are intimate and fun; where you laugh and enjoy one another. #WomenLivingWell #homemaking #family #makingyourhomeahaven

In our home, I’m the coordinator!  If there’s going to be a game night, pizza night, movie night, or a social happening – it’s because I planned it!  I’m guessing I’m not alone in this.  Growing up, my mother did a great job of creating fun family memories.  They weren’t complex or over the top – but they happened!  They happened year in and year out, and now the memory of those fun moments give me security, comfort, joy and a bond with my family that will never be broken.

My children enjoy long, drawn out evenings of Monopoly, watching old re-runs of The Brady Bunch, lots of chex mix, and lots of cuddles, back rubs and even wild play with wrestling and nerf gun wars (my husband loves to flip couches and make forts – I must admit the clean freak in me – cringes – but I know that someday these memories will be a balm to their soul in times of trials!)

A wise mother knows how to have fun and how to be tender. She knows the healing touch of her hands. Jesus used his hands to touch and heal many. There is power in the gentle expressions of love through warm embraces, cuddles and back rubs. God made backs with nerve endings that simply enjoy a rub!

You have it in your power to delight your husband and children by simply rubbing their back!  No matter how old your children are, they are craving tender affection. Take the time to slow down and fulfill this need.

Mark 10:16 says “And (Jesus) took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them.”

Bless your family by learning to live together in peace and tender love.  If you are participating in this challenge leave a comment below with how it’s going – if you are a blogger copy this button (the code is on the sidebar) into your blog post, write about how it’s going and link it up this Wednesday at the Women Living Well Link-up party!

I have enjoyed reading so many of your stories! I so appreciate you joining me on this journey!!! Persevere!

Walk with the King!

 

 

 
*To see the list of weekly challenges, go to this post here.
**Thanks to Stacey from Musings of a Music Making Mommy, there’s a button code for the “Making Your Home a Haven” button, on the sidebar! Thanks Stacey for sending me this code!
***If you don’t want to miss a post from this series, Subscribe via email to my daily posts here.

20 Comments

  1. What a lovely idea! I hope they’ll reciprocate.. I love a b ackrub! I know what you mean about the ‘neat freak’ freaking out. We have ‘toilet paper’ wars at my house whenever I buy a new bale of toilet paper. By the time they’re done its crazy in here but nothing can make up for the fun time and the joy on everyone’s faces.

    Really enjoying this challenge.. it is helping me to bite my tongue when I’m ready to explode and extend grace to my family.

    Thank you!

  2. This is a fabulous challenge. My husband commented last week how much he was enjoying the changes in the house. This weeks challenege is especially special to me. I’m struggling lately, especially with the addition of Pinterest in my life, of having to coordinate these elaborate birthday parties, crafts, memory books, Christmas gifts and I struggle with the time and money these all take. This challenege is simple yet SO memorable. Thanks Courtney!

  3. We actually do a “family home evening” every week (well, almost) in our house. I even have a rotation chart for everyone’s assignments for the night–someone picks an activity, someone is in charge of refreshments, someone plans a lesson (just a short little blurb on a gospel topic, usually, or sometimes we address things going on in our family that we feel need to be discussed). The kids love it and look forward to it every week. And with the rotating chart, it’s not always *my* job to plan everything!

  4. The fact that the clean freak in you cringes made me laugh; I too think ‘oh no!’ when my boys ask whether they can use all the dining chairs and bedding to make cubbies. Too often I say no- I really have to agree to a ‘fun mess’ more often. Theyre only little once 🙂

    Eva

  5. This is a great challenge. My mom did so much of this while I was growing up, so I have found it easy to do much of this and more because of how I grew up. With our six children, my husband and I from the very beginning decided that we never wanted to be a stressed out famiy running here and there from one practice or activity to another. All of our children agree that the most fun comes from playing outside as a family, watching movies and shows. We watched all of the Brady Bunch dvds together! I’ve spoken to women who have grown children and when I ask one thing they may have changed many of them say that they would have chosen more family time and less running around taking children to sports, ballet etc, just watching them perform. Not that those things are bad, but family time is to be treasured. We also read lots of books out loud. Not just short stories, but things like Narnia stories and long books that take a while to complete. Lots of family memories build around books.

    Our six children love the time together.

    Enjoy your family.

  6. We have had a good week. I”ll tell my daughter that I am going to light the “peaceful” candle and she thinks it is great! She always asks to blow it out when it is time. I am making a more concious effort to be peaceful myself.
    We have a movie or game night every friday evening and it is really something we all look forward to at the end of a busy week.

  7. I’m doing this and the maximize your mornings challenge and it’s going very hard. All three of the kids are fighting more and having major attitude problems, especially the oldest, and I feel less peaceful instead of more. The house is worse because the kids aren’t cleaning up as well as they were, homeschooling is behind and about the only thing I feel is better is my tendency to pray first about it all. I’m discouraged.

  8. Perfect! We have huge slumber parties in the living room, movies, games, feasts quite often. We love it! One of our favorite slumber parties is the night we trim the Christmas tree. Everyone sleeps under the tree that night. 🙂 (and my family are back “scratchers!” 😉 )

  9. Love your ideas and pictures. I don’t have children at home; but we did enjoy fun moments through the years. We now get to enjoy our grandchildren in their fun adventures.
    Blessings to you for all of your fun ideas for helping create a wonderful home enviornment.

  10. I am following these….love this weeks. My husband is so good at playing games with the kids in the evenings even though that is his time to do his online schooling!! Movies and special treats happen frequently, but this is a good reminder to keep on….and to really keep in mind the reason we are doing this!

  11. Thank you so much for doing this. I have copied all of it and pasted it into a Word document. I turned your challenge into a mini book for myself…I’m trying to be away from the computer as much as possible because I’m on it waaaayyy too much.

    I love all your challenges and look forward to them.

    I need this one very much.

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