In this new year, I have a wish for you

Happy New Year!

I hope that your new year will be filled with peace, and prosperity,
and encounters with the presence of God.

Oh shucks, that’s not my real wish.

I mean, yes, I really do desire all of that for you,
but here’s what I’m honestly hoping for…

That your family spends time together
incorporating stories from the Bible into your everyday life.

I’m hoping that when your child invites a friend over for dinner and this friend hears your family making sacred connections with the secular, and they question your child about this behavior, your kid proudly says, “this is what we do.”

How can you get to this point?

Read together the Bible. (Use a story Bible if your kids are young – here’s a good one: The Jesus Storybook Bible.)
Ask a question that start with the words “I wonder…”
Listen carefully to everyone’s replies.
Repeat.

For example, to prepare for our upcoming Rotation on the Ten Commandments, review the story of Abraham and Sarah. Read Genesis 12:1-4, and 15:1-5, and 17:1-9.
Then ask:

I wonder if God’s promises to Abraham ever came true?
I wonder what an everlasting covenant is?
I wonder how this story ties to the Ten Commandments?

Refer to this post if you’d like more discussion questions.

What can you do today, to practice what you hope to achieve in the coming year?

Photo credits:
Click here for info on banner photo (not visible in readers or email).
New Year’s greeting from 1910, by Puzzler4879 under a Creative Commons License on Flickr.

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