Have you ever considered how many different habits make up your day?

Our days are composed of many different types of habits: habits we’ve started intentionally with a specific outcome in mind, habits we’ve started unintentionally that may or may not lead us to a good outcome (auto-pilot habits), habits we’ve developed during youth and don’t even think about (“take for granted” habits), and habits we pick up from other people or society, good habits…bad habits…

Habits can make us great, or they can keep us from greatness.  

They can allow God to use us to further His kingdom……or to be a hindrance.

So how are we to get this right?  Nobody’s perfect.  Nobody has all good habits filling the minutes and hours of their days – and we all drift! With twenty-two years being married with children, there’ve been tons of opportunities for me to foul up.  There were days I wanted to tuck myself into a ball and hide in my closet…there were times I did!  But God has shown me some things.

Here are some things to ponder when deciding how we want our families to live out life:

1. As followers of Jesus, we need to give this our best shot – not perfection, just our best shot. If we don’t seem any different from the next family, and the next family, isn’t something wrong? We need to incorporate habits into our lives that we believe best sync with God’s desires – found in the words of scripture.  If we want true Christianity to be the legacy of our family and touch a day we will not see, there should be nothing more important than the types of habits we are living out. (These habits can create life-changing disciplines for future generations!)
2. We need to remember that our children (and others) are watching us and will do what we do WAY MORE than what we say (Do I need to a list out all the bad habits they are waiting to copy?).  In fact, we are their greatest influencers!  So as parents, we actually need to be living out habits that would prepare our children for what we hope will be the case for their lives.  That sounds obvious, I know, but how often do we live as if we’ve forgotten the obvious?  We can read over and over throughout scripture how God’s people continued to forget.  Ah, why do we do that!  
3. God takes the habits we weave into the fabric of our homes and combines them with what He is doing…so the more intentional we are about living out Godly habits, things that align with scripture and align with who we know Jesus to be, the easier it will be for us to be on board with His mission.  Another obvious statement, we can’t get this right without studying, taking to heart, and applying God’s word.
4. We need to remember GRACE – grace is from God.  We need this grace for GROWTH as we’re trying to find and live out the best habits for our homes…and we need this growth to reach MATURITY! As Pastor Chuck Swindoll said, “a major goal of wholesome, healthy Christians is the hope of reaching maturity before death.” (Yikes – I sure hope so!)  This helps me know that I am not alone in this effort to be a grown-up!  We need to give ourselves grace and thank God for the grace he kindly and readily offers us daily.  James 1:4 says “Let perseverance finish it’s work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”  So as we’re accepting God’s grace, we should not get down and discouraged (as Satan wants), but instead, keep thanking God for that grace as we push forward again.  This perseverance leads us to maturity…
5. …which leads me to the topic of PATIENCE.  It can be hard to be patient with new habits or ANY good habits – we want to see results quickly, but our family is a garden that needs the nurture of faith and patience.  It takes time for seeds to sprout and shoot through the soil, time for plants to grow taller and age to produce fruit.  We ward off pests, pull weeds, keep watering and fertilizing, choosing to do things that will best nurture the plants in that space, waiting patiently with faith for good things to happen.  Such is our lives…and Satan wants us to grow weary as we wait and to feel alone in this process so we will cave to the culture around us. God reminds us in scripture we have some important CHOICES to make in the wait, choices WE make:  (Romans 12:12) to “be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, and faithful in prayer,” and (Hebrews 12:1) “let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.  And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.”  So we should choose to keep running, and it’s a marathon.
6. IT’S NEVER TOO LATE to change habits or start new ones – that put you on a more productive vision path for your family…START NOW!  Without goals and a clear path, who knows which way you will go (or, in the words of a country music song, “you’ve got to stand for something, or you’ll fall for anything”).  It could be taking better care of your body through diet and exercise, structuring bedtime routines for more peaceful connection time, scheduling regular date nights with your spouse, inviting a widowed neighbor over for monthly dinners, or just having an actual quite time with God on your daily calendar so it doesn’t get missed.  There are so many areas we could reevaluate to try and be more productive in our Christian walks.  (Do you already feel drained from reading this? Understandable!  But I cheer all of us on, knowing THIS WORK MAKES A DIFFERENCE.  Choose areas you feel need the most attention.)

Speaking of VISION PATH…what are your *BEACON GOALS for your family, and how do you plan to get there?

*Beacon Goals are how this website labels what you want your family to live for that aligns the characteristics, desires, and resources of your family with God’s word.

Do you have a vision for your home – values that you stand for, things you want to accomplish?

Have you considered what family goals should be in place to align with this vision?

Do your current activities sync with your family goals?

Have you considered whether or not your current rhythms and habits align with scripture?

Are you willing to separate from or avoid activities that don’t align with your goals and vision – or don’t align with scripture?

Are your current family rhythms helping your family members grow closer to God, learning more about the purpose they have in His kingdom?

Now, ask yourself these BIG questions…

Is the life you are personally living setting an example for how you hope your children’s lives will honor God in the future?

Does your family life currently reflect the values you desire your children to carry on to their own families?

What words or phrases would you like to come to mind when other people think of your family?

Now, if you are ready, establish a written VISION PATH for your own family containing *BEACON GOALS and the ways you hope to get there.

…remembering that WE prepare, but it is GOD who orchestrates. We are to give our best preparing our families for a future that is actually being orchestrated by the one who created us.  So we prepare for what we hope will be the case.  (And, yes, I’m with you…I wish I knew all that God was up to.)  

What are the big and little things you hope for? What can you start in your home TODAY to help prepare for those things?