Part 3 in a 3 Part Series

So, you have admitted that the model is broken, but now what? How do you develop an action plan to make a change? Let me suggest a list of tested and approved ideas that have worked wonders for building authenticity and connectedness in our family.

First, consider moving the television to a part of the house where it is not the centerpiece of your home and then set limits on television time. This is pretty radical for some families because our lives can revolve so much around the television, but it’s what we have done, and it has worked! Our television is in a small 8 x 10 sitting room just outside of our bedroom. We let our boys watch television at times when there are shows on TV that we support (very few programs), and when we watch movies together it encourages closeness. We usually end up wrestling, laughing, tickling, and having great interaction because we are in close spacial proximity to one another. Besides, for us, our large living room, where the TV used to be, has now become a place to wrestle, play with toys, play board games, and just hang out. This is perhaps one of the best practical decisions that has changed the way we interact as a family. Our focus used to revolve around the television. Now the focus is on each other (this may be more difficult to do if you have teens or a large family, but I think there are ways to still apply the same principles).

Consider having a game night each week. Turn the TV off, and get the board games out. You don’t have to play the same game for hours just so you can ‘finish the game’. Sometimes we will even play 2 or 3 games in one night. As soon as our boys are getting tired of one game, we bring out another. The main point is to connect and interact together as a family. If you don’t have any board games and don’t want to go and pay full price for a bunch of games at Wal-Mart or Target, go to a thrift store or check out ebay.

Go on a bike ride together as a family. Every family could use a little more exercise. We love to go on bike rides together because our boys love to race, laugh, and just enjoy being boys on their bikes.

Walk together. Now preschool kids don’t always like this one because they end up saying “Daddy, hold me” or “Daddy put me on your shoulders” but that’s OK. The point is, each time we go on a walk something always happens. The last time we did, we saw a snake. One time, we saw a turtle. But each time, we always find something to talk about that brings us closer as a family. Great teachable moments for D6 Families!

Our boys always love to go to the park and play. Many times it will be so hot, that we will only stay at the park for only 20 or 30 minutes. Sometimes we will go and be there for over an hour. The amount of time is not the most important thing, but connect with your children and looking for teachable moments is. What I love the most is to hear the boys say “Daddy, watch me!” They just love to show moms and dads the new things they can do.

It is difficult to find something to do as a family that makes you feel more wholesome than going on a picnic. Pack one yourself, or stop by and pick up some fried chicken. Either way, the kids will love it. If it is raining, spread a tablecloth on the floor in the living room and have a picnic inside. My wife does this in the winter, and the boys think it’s pretty cool!

Read together. This is perhaps one of the greatest things we have ever done as a family. We began at infancy with our boys. If you are looking for a way to expand their imaginations and challenge their minds, reading is the way to go. It is never too early or too late to start. We usually try to read 1 or 2 little books a night along with My Cuddle Time Bible Storybook or the Bible.

Many families talk about Family Devotions, but how do you make this happen? CLEAR Devotional Magazines are the perfect way to do this. Randall House has a devotional magazine for each life stage; infants and toddlers all the way through adults. I personally use CLEAR Living and my sons use My Cuddle Time Bible Story Book and Explorers Guide Level I. It has been the perfect way to connect or family to God and to each other.

$1 Nights at Family Favorite Restaurants is always a fun one for our family. In our town, nearly every night of the week, somewhere in our area is hosting a $1 Kids Meal night. Many times, on Tuesday’s we go to Chic-fil-A and the entire family can eat for under $9. Then we go to Baskin Robbins and get ice cream for $4 and some change. Dinner and a desert for the entire family for only $13! That’s hard to beat in Nashville! The kids think it is so much fun…and it is!

This is a pretty basic one, but sometimes I just have to remind myself to get on the floor and play with the boys. After work, sometimes I will mow the yard, or work on the car. Every now and then I just have to remind myself to drop everything and go and play with the boys. It is always worth it and I am always glad I did.

When you do watch television together as a family, remember just because it’s on television during prime-time/family time, that doesn’t mean it aligns with Christian thought. Analyze the shows you watch as a family. If they don’t support scripture, then trash them. The driving principle is that You are in control, not the television. If there is nothing on that supports what you want your children/family to view, then consider something like Netflix, Redbox, or the new Blockbuster video program where for just a few dollars a month you can choose your what movies or programs you would like to view together.

Let me challenge you to take a long hard look at the model you are following. Are you just going through the motions every day? Do you find yourself plopped on the couch at the end of the day in front of the TV as a family watching something you really don’t feel you should be watching just because you can’t think of any thing else to do? Maybe you are on the couch while your kids are all in their rooms and you feel disconnected as a family? Either way, if you desire to raise spiritual champions, I challenge you to do something different. Go counter to our culture and be a D6 Mom or a D6 Dad. It will be the best decision you ever make.

Part 2 in a 3 Part Series

Last night, my wife and I had to change the channel three times due to inappropriate images, commercials or scenes that “happened” upon our television screen, and we are very conservative on what we watch. This may hurt my popularity to point this out, but how many times have you been watching Law and Order or CSI and the detectives walk into a strip club (remember this is prime time television on NBC and CBS) to investigate a scene or a suspect – then just a few minutes later this can be followed up by a Victoria’s Secret commercial? I am so sick of this…which is why I am writing this three part series and sharing with you the changes we have made that are making a difference. If you haven’t noticed this, then you probably don’t watch much prime time television.

You see, without giving it much thought, we come home from work each day and are continuing to follow the same model as our parents, by sitting around the television as a family (or even just as husband and wife) while post modern thought is pumped into our heads. The difference is, culture has shifted – little by little over the past few decades, it has continued to shift, and here we are, still following the same model. We have to admit that it is broken, and make a change.

If we are going to be D6 Families that train our children in the home to follow Christ, we have to first admit that the model is broken. Sponge Bob won’t do it for us. Nickelodeon and the Disney Channel won’t do it. As Moms, Dads, and Grandparents, we have to admit that the model is broken and then develop an action plan to do something different. Tomorrow I will share just a few of the simple ideas that have worked for our family. I hope you find them helpful.

Part 1 in a 3 Part Series

I was 4. The model cars were shiny. They were also my dads, and I was not supposed to touch them. But they were so shiny, I just couldn’t resist!

Now I’m not talking about those cheap plastic model cars. He put together some real medal model cars. They were way cool! I just had to touch one. I remember it was yellow, and some sort of 1940’s car. So, I climbed up on top of my parent’s bed, and reached up onto the mantel above their bed where the car was, and got it down (why my mother let him set up his model cars in their bedroom, I will never understand!).

I remember dismantling a door, a wheel, a tire, a hood. My Dad then walked through the door…I think he wanted to dismantle parts of me, but he didn’t. But I was in big trouble, the model was broken.

Well that was 27 years ago, so somehow I must have escaped his wrath. A lot has changed in the last 27 years. Many of us didn’t have VCR’s yet, and unless you were high up in the CIA, you didn’t have a cell phone. Unfortunately, even though culture has shifted, we are still using the same model; a broken one at that: The broken model of the family. I would like to suggest that it’s time we build a new model.

For example, if you are a parent or a grandparent, let me ask you this question: When you get home from work, once supper is over, where do you find yourself as a family? How do you spend your time together in the evenings?

Many families find themselves gathered around the television. As a matter of fact the average American family watches 28 hours of television a week. Teens watch 13 hours of television each week. Now, I am not here to tell you that television is evil. I have a handful of television shows I enjoy watching every week, and my kids watch a little bit of appropriate television nearly every day.

The difference is this; 27 years ago the hit prime time television shows were The Jeffersons, The Dukes of Hazard, Dallas, and M*A*S*H. 27 years ago the hit television shows for children were 3-2-1 Contact and The Bozo Show. Although those shows were not perfect, they are a far cry from what we allow into our homes today.

We have the same habits as Christian families that we had 27 years ago, but the culture around us has changed…but we still continue to follow the same model. It is time we take a serious look at the way we are living. I will illustrate this in tomorrows post.

There are at least 1,000 church bookstores in the United States. I got an email from Dave Condiff, Associate Publisher of The Church Bookstore magazine, that said depending on exactly how you qualify a church bookstore, there could be as many as 3,400 church bookstores nation wide. This number has multiplied rapidly in the last five years. We are finding out that people are more likely to pick up a Christian book or Christian magazine from a resource center in their church than they are to make an extra trip to the store during the week or even to order a Christian book online, if it is available to them.

Pastors like the concept of The Church Bookstand because it is an effective way to influence their congregation to read Christian content that will help them develop the mind of Christ. Our CEO, Ron Hunter recently said “Pastors’ recommendations carry weight, and people respond by reinforcing books that further solidify the pastor’s message.” I have actually verified this with over a dozen church bookstores across the country. They unanimously agreed that if the pastor mentions a book in his sermon or recommends a book afterwords, the church bookstore will sell out of that title after the service…that is, if the pastor actually gives the church store a week or two of lead time to order the book

But how does all of this work if you are a small church? I mean, if you run 75, 125 or even 25o, how in the world are you supposed to be able to operate a Church bookstore? Up until recently there have been very few resources available to help the small to medium-sized church open a church bookstore to equip their people. Randall House has changed that by providing the perfect resource tool to help any church to be able to open up a mini church bookstore.

On June 4, Randall House launched The Church Bookstand. The Church Bookstand is constructed of sturdy corrugated boxboard with a semi-gloss finish. All three bookstands can be purchased for as little as $99.99, or you can buy them individually. They can be set up in the church lobby, vestibule, fellowship hall, youth room, or wherever is most convenient for your church. Ordering books for the bookstand and restocking is easy. If you check out the web site, all you have to do is look at the recommended books and then call Randall House to order.

The benefit even goes further than the spiritual enrichment that readers will receive each week (which is enough within and of itself for the pastor’s heart); there is also a financial benefit to the local church as well. Randall House will sell the books to the local church at a discount, therefore the profits from the books can be used for benevolent ministry, missions, building projects, or even to help support your youth ministry. All it takes is one volunteer who can coordinate with the pastor.

If you want more info about The Church Bookstand, either check out the web site or leave a post.

Anyone noticed the new Coca-Cola cans or bottles? In one word, simplistic.
The Middle Tennessee Coca-Cola Bottling Company may be doing it a little different than other regions of the country, but I have noticed the last two weeks the new stripped down design.

In case you are wondering, it was not an accident. Simplicity is not just a trend, it’s a mega trend, mastered by companies like Google, Pottery Barn, Bath & Body Works, Nike, and many others.

Let me tell you what I like about the simplistic mega trend: Clearer message. Less clutter. Many times it’s more attractive. Easier to understand.

If I want to find out more information, I will go to your web site or click through …know what I mean? But if you clutter me up, I won’t even pay attention to you. That is, unless you are so cluttered up that you make me look twice in disgust. But that’s another topic for another time…

At Randall House we talk a lot about D6. As a matter of fact, we are launching our D6 Campaign this July at our National Convention. This week we will send out a letter to a few thousand churches about D6. In the beginning of July, we will be mailing out a post card that will share more of the benefits of D6. We will also be circulating some emails that share more about the D6 Campaign and how it can help families and churches.

But what exactly is D6?

Deuteronomy 6:4-7 says “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on 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.”

The D6 Campaign is based on this passage. It is the biblical mandate for mothers and fathers to take the lead in the daily spiritual training and development of their children. Is your family ready to be a D6 Family? How about your church? Are you ready to be a D6 Church?

What is a D6 Family?

A D6 family looks for teachable moments with children and spouses to fortify their relationship with God. Parents should intentionally talk with their kids about values, biblical principles, and life lessons. This is typically avoided or does not come up unless the conversation is reactionary to a problem that has arisen. D6 helps prevent many of the problems by preparing for the choices we all face. A D6 family does not pretend to be spiritual, they work at it.

What is a D6 Church?

A D6 Church recognizes the biblical importance of parents being involved with the spiritual development of teens and children. The influences of the world come at them in digital, electronic, printed and many other very attractive manners. We must exert a biblical influence on their lives more than just three hours a week. The D6 church emphasizes Bible study, quiet times, parents’ interaction and involvement in their daily spiritual development. The D6 church gives them tools to be a D6 Family.

If you want information immediately about how the D6 Campaign can benefit your family or church then contact me at 800-877-7030 ext. 347, or come check out the D6 Booth in Little Rock!