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One of our great family traditions is Family Council, Sundays at five. The idea is to sit together as a family, express our feelings, ask questions, listen to each other and then eat ice cream! It’s my wife and I, our three children, no technology, just heart to heart conversation.

Today we talked about the last few weeks, my move out of traditional church (we’ve talked about this  before), this coming week, spring break and more.

Our 7 year old son speaks well. He uses sentences such as “that’s a fabulous idea” (in Spanish and English). Our 9 year old takes care of others (yeap, middle child). She knows every mood, ear motion and eye twitch of her hamster Snowie.

Our 12 year old is a great listener and is very perceptive, today she said “I love recording the Neighbors Abbey podcasts”. My wife brings reality to the show, she talks about her exercise plan, about not leaving your clothes in the bathroom, about work. I bring in the rear, moderating and modeling listening, giving everyone a turn to speak and expressing my own feelings “I feel fat, haven’t worked out in 2 weeks, you can tell me to not eat cheese cake, ok?” We pray together, we talk about God.

Family Councils are a lost art as families spend less time in front of each other and more time in front of the TV or iPod/iPad/Netflix. I encourage you, if your family is still at home or old enough (tough to do this with babies), sit in a circle, choose a topic and talk.

Whatever it takes, take time to talk, choose a facilitator and ask questions. It’ll make for a great day. And make sure you always keep the circle open, you never know who outside of your family may need to be a part of Family Council.

Have a great day.

Into the future,

davidTrig