Family Fanatics

Here is the story of our lives.

Short, huh?

One fond memory I have of my childhood was hearing my mom singing around the house.

This was interesting because my mother was always afraid of my father hearing her sing as my father was a well loved singer during high school and later sang solos in church.  However, when my father was out of the house, my mother sang as she did the household chores.

Not only that, but when my sister and I were old enough to help her do the dishes, we sang rounds together as she washed the dishes and we dried.  One song we learned from my sister was one her teacher taught the class around Halloween time.  I’m not much of a fan of Halloween today because I am very much against what it stands for and what some people do on that day.  However, the song my sister learned was in a minor key, and while my sister and I could catch onto the tune, my mother somehow ended up converting it into a major key.  And my sister and I would laugh as we would try over and over to get her to catch on to the minor key.

But, I am so happy my mother enjoyed singing with us.  She had a way of turning chores into joyful activities, and she was and still is a great mom.

Take time to make family rituals.  They make joyful memories that will never be forgotten.  They bring memories of happy times and bring expectations of joy whenever you come together again.

One thing my father mentioned the other day was a crazy pastime some college students indulged in, and I thought that would be a great idea for family fun.  So, I hunted for videos on YouTube to share.

Spending time with family doing silly things like squirrel fishing can build shared fun memories and strengthen family relationships deeply.

[video:www.youtube.com/watch?v=9G1HkeeXLLc]

Now, please understand that this does NOT involve cruelty or fish hooks.  Get a fishing pole and a bag of peanuts.  Instead of using a hook cut it off and tie the end of the fishing line tightly around a peanut so that it won’t come loose easily.

Cast the peanut out into the middle of a bunch of squirrels and watch them chase it.  Have fun.  Play with them.  It’s hilarious!  Then see if you can lift the squirrel off the ground.  Usually they will hold tightly to the peanut refusing to let it get away.  I saw a video of one guy on YouTube squirrel fishing from a balcony and bringing the squirrels he caught up to the stairs.  He got one squirrel to come and take the peanut from his hand.

Take time to make memories with your family and you will never regret it!

Eileen and I went up to Hume Lake, and I stopped the van just to get out and look at the stars.  I knew the view would be spectacular, but I had no idea how spectacular it would be.

Stardust!!!

For fun, take your family up to the mountains.  Bring a telescope and a camera if you have one

See if you can figure out how to get some good pictures of the stars.  It’s quite a challenge!  Or check on when the meteor showers and go up to where the stars are shining brightly and watch for shooting stars.  I remember when I took my daughter up to the hills to watch them and I believe we saw more shooting stars that night than I had seen in my whole life up to that point.

Check the news for special astronomical events are taking place.  Enjoy a harvest moon or a comet.  See if you can remember the constellations, and memorize the names of the planets in order together.  Great educational opportunities with your kids are also awesome opportunities for bonding and making fond memories you will carry with you the rest of your lives.

Start today!

I just watched a movie called No Greater Love with my wife and parents on TV before church this morning and wanted to jot down a note here to remember to tell people to watch the movie.

The movie is not a high budget film.  The acting is OK but not great.  But, the story and message will bring tears to people’s eyes, and because of that, this movie is absolutely precious.  It is precious not because of the emotions it evokes, but because you come away feeling that the movie has touched a place in your heart that causes you to feel how precious marriage and family are and to see that no matter how difficult problems can be in marriage, forgiveness, love, commitment and faith can open us up to receive God’s grace to overcome problems and have a precious family life that can be more precious than life itself.