Family Times Virtue Pack

You’ve heard it before: 40 hours―that’s all we have! When you take into account vacations, holidays, and special services, churches typically have only 40 hours in a year to influence a child’s life. But let’s take a look at the 3,000 hours that parents have. It seems like a lot, and yes, it is far more than the 40 we have on Sundays, but let’s break it down. 3,000 hours is about eight hours a day. In those eight hours, families try to eat at least two meals together. One of those is consumed while lunches are made, backpacks are checked, and schedules are arranged for the day. The other takes place in between practices, recitals, games, and homework. Meal time is a little hectic!

Consider the other times parents have to spend with their children. A lot of time is spent in the car as families drive from home to school, school to practice, practice to the grocery store, and the grocery store to home. The problem is that those drives aren’t always peaceful, right? Finally, they arrive at bedtime—the perfect ending to a perfect day. But wait, math homework wasn’t checked, someone still has one chapter to read for history, a few papers still need to be signed, and the dog hasn’t been fed.

It is no wonder parents feel overwhelmed. But we know they believe with all their hearts that loving God, and their child’s personal relationship with Jesus, is the most important legacy they can leave. They desire to be the spiritual leaders God has called them to be, but that task can become too daunting to know where to begin.

Whether parents are intentional or not, they are creating rhythms in their homes. As leaders who only have a limited amount of time with children, it’s important to help parents leverage the hours they have with their kids. To this end, we have provided a way to create teachable moments throughout a busy day.

The Bible says in Deuteronomy 6:7: “Impress [the commands God has given you] upon your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” We have created a resource called the FamilyTimes^® Virtue Pack to help you make the most of these parts of the day. In each Virtue Pack, we provide weekly activities based on four family times: MealTime, DriveTime, BedTime and MorningTime. MealTime cards contain great conversation starters and cool ideas for family discussions around the dinner table. The DriveTime CD has a recording for kids, called KidJam, and a little something for the parents too, plus an original song about that month’s virtue. For BedTime, we have one Bible story card each week that parents can read to their children. MorningTime cards are included for parents to write short messages of encouragement to their children. These pieces can become constant reminders to parents and their kids to prioritize these times! Additionally, it helps parents better understand their roles as counselors, teachers, friends, and coaches.

Check out the rethink store to purchase these valuable tools that coincide with what we teach in 252. www.therethinkstore.org