25 Ways to Lead Your Family
Are you a man of resolutions? Many go through the motions of making resolutions to accomplish something in the upcoming year that they want to pursue, complete, start, quit, or attempt even when they know fully well they may not be successful. Sometimes that’s because the resolution is something that is good for them to accomplish at some level.
For men, one of those that often make the resolution list is to “spiritually lead your family better.” If it doesn’t make the list with weight loss, exercise, et al, it’s probably because so many of us don’t know what that looks like. We think it just means more work. And, many of us didn’t see it modeled well growing up. Maybe we’ve turned over the spiritual aspect of our family to our wives. That is not how God intended it to be in our home.
So, as you consider your resolutions for 2018, here are some things that you can do to help you accomplish the goal to lead your family spiritually better in 2018 than you did in 2017 (and, even if it’s not a resolution, this is still a good list to read through and deploy).
Make it simple…don’t choose all 25 but choose your top 5 to accomplish in 2018 or schedule them throughout the year. Here’s the list:
- Pray daily with your wife.
- Write a love letter that she’d like to receive.
- Discover her top three needs and over the next 12 months and go all out to meet them.
- Buy her a rose. Take her in your arms. Hold her face gently. Look into her eyes and say, “I’d marry you all over again!”
- Take her on a weekend getaway.
- Read the Scriptures to her.
- Replace the “D” word with the “C” word! (D: divorce – C: commitment)
- Court her.
- Remain faithful to her.
- Fulfill your marriage covenant.
- Have a family time at least one night a week.
- Use circumstances to teach your children to trust God.
- Protect your family from evil.
- Restrain your teenager’s passion.
- Set spiritual goals for your children.
- Take your children on mission trips.
- Catch your kids doing something right – and let them know you caught them.
- Take your kids on dates.
- Inspect what you expect.
- Do a Proverbs breakfast Bible study with your teens (15 and older).
- Hug and kiss your sons and daughters.
- Ask your children for forgiveness when you fail them.
- Pray with them.
- Call them to a spiritual mission to do what God wants to do with their life.
- Persevere and don’t quit.
Did any of these scream to you, “PICK ME, PICK ME”? Which one(s) will you work on in 2018? Share some thoughts below to help you be accountable to moving forward with leading your family spiritually in 2018!
Reprinted by permission from ©FamilyLife, www.familylife.com. All rights reserved.
