“It didn’t matter how big our house was; it mattered that there was love in it.” — Peter Buffett

“Now faith, hope, and love remain — these three things — and the greatest of these is love.” — 1 Corinthians 13:13

We cannot enter the month of February without seeing all the hearts, flowers, and pink fluffy things covering all the stores. It’s like a pink storm that overtakes every business and store. These colors, decorations, yummy treats, and precious gifts are all a reflection of the love that abounds around us. Within our families, friendships, and lives, we can find love (and hopefully find it in abundance!). Which is why Valentine’s day, and all that comes with it, is so popular. We love LOVE! We want to feel love in our life, not just romantic love. But also, friendship, loyalty, generosity, community, affection, adoration, and all the various aspects of love. So, for this month, I wanted to ponder, dwell and share about love!

In Tuesdays blog, I chatted about God’s love, because that is where love originates and flows into our lives. 

We love because he first loved us. - 1 John 4:19

For this blog, I want to look at the beautiful love of family! Each family is so gloriously special and unique. They can be places of joy, pain, enjoyment, and even difficulty. Because families are made out of humans, they can be disappointing or harmful, even as they can be places of safety and love. No matter what your family of origin was like, you also have the choice to create your own family! Maybe through marriage and children, or through choosing to live life alongside individuals who love you and you love them. No matter what your family looks like, I hope that this blog can give you ideas for celebrating and encouraging all that it is! 

ONE BIG FAMILY

“Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family: Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.” — Jane Howard

One of my favorite family traditions that we have adopted is Family Day! It was an idea that I found in Sally Clarkson’s books, which are some great books about family, homeschooling and being a mom. She shares how every year her family takes a day and together they write down some memories from the past year, eat good food, take photos, and just celebrate who they are as a family. This idea was so intriguing and delightful that I grabbed hold of it and adjusted it to fit my own family! Every year, we choose a day and sometimes that day changes depending on work and our calendars. But we keep that whole day clear for our family! We start the day with a big, delicious meal. Then we sit and share and write down some memories and moments that we loved from the past year. We also share hopes, ideas and goals for the next year. Later we go somewhere beautiful (botanic gardens, national park, etc.) and eat a picnic lunch, walk around, and take photos. At the end of the day, we celebrate! Maybe this is a pizza movie night, or a board game party. But the focus is just on how we can enjoy our time together. It is always one of our favorite days of the year! 

I think one of the reasons that we love it is because we set aside all of the distractions and build memories together. What could be better? No matter what your family looks like, it can be so helpful to find times to focus on just being a family together. No distractions. Building in celebration and gratitude. So, here are a few ideas for things that can increase your sense of family, and ways to celebrate your own family: 

• Choose a day that can be your own “Family Day”! You could celebrate it every year with your own traditions. Don’t forget to take photos to remember this special celebration! 

• Write letters to your family members! Maybe you will save them for a special occasion or give them to them for no reason at all. But the more you notice and celebrate what makes each of your family members special, the more that feeling of love and acceptance will abound.

• Find something that your family can do together on a regular basis. This might be weekly dinner, or monthly hike, or daily check-ins. Anything that is dependable and can create that sense of togetherness. 

• Put down your devices. Find a time that you can all set aside your devices (phones, tvs, tablets, etc.) and do something together. This could be eating a meal, playing a board game, going on a walk, doing a puzzle. Anything that you can all enjoy together and helps you to all take time off of technology. 

• Volunteer together! Find a way that your family can give back. Just look for volunteer opportunities in your community that are age appropriate and sound exciting for your family. 

• Save up and take a vacation together. On our last family vacation, we even had our 5- & 7-year-olds saving up their money and helping with the plan so that we were all invested in this time together. It created so many wonderful memories and such a sense of togetherness! 

RESOURCES

“Ohana means family, and family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.” — Stitch, Lilo & Stitch

If we are completely honest, being a part of a family can be difficult. Mostly because they are made up of humans! And humans are flawed and imperfect. So, it can be helpful to have resources that help us! Here are a few of the resources that my family enjoys:

• Sally Clarkson Books: This is the author who first inspired our Family Day tradition! If you are looking for other ideas, her books are a great resource, specifically the “Life-Giving” series. 

• Gratitude Journals: build a sense of gratitude in your family! Purchase one for yourself, or one for your family as a whole and fill it out together. One of our favorite products! 

• Your Local Library! This is one of my family’s favorite things. We love to go to events that the library is hosting, pick up books or audiobooks, or just hang out at our library. There are so many reasons to check out your library!

• Calm App: My whole family likes this app! There are sleep stories, meditations, or even music and background noise. 

What things would you add to this list?

“Family is not an important thing. It’s everything.” –Michael J. Fox

QUESTIONS AND REFLECTIONS 

One of my favorite things to do is to ponder, reflect and journal, it gives me time to think through all the various aspects of life. May you find time in your day or your week, to sit and reflect. You can use these questions as a starting place for your reflection, or just an addition to your normal journal rhythm.

1. Every family is different and unique, so write out who is in your family and what all those relationships are in your life. 

2. What are some ways that you can support and encourage your family?

3. What makes you most grateful within your family? How can you focus on those things?

4. Journal about any goals or ideas you have for your family.  

5. What’s one thing from this blog that you want to use or put into action? 

“She gets up while it is still night, providing food for her household, even some for her female servants. She surveys a field and acquires it; from her own resources, she plants a vineyard. She works energetically; her arms are powerful.”— Proverbs 31:15-17