Is your “family room” doing its job?

When I was growing up the thought of having televisions in your room or computers of your own were foreign and ridiculous!  Sure, my parents had a television in their room, but when I was a kid, I never even desired to have a TV in my own room.   On occasion, I can remember plotting with my older brother to get our parents to allow us to pile into their bed after what became an elongated whining session in which we begged them to let us watch “Home Improvement” before we went to bed, but television was really a “rarity” in our home.  My mom had strict rules that involved us playing together outside or in our rooms (or the scary basement) and using our own creativity to fill our time.  In turn, we had a great time pretending to fight off “intruders” while jumping around on our trampoline, or “shooting dinner” while we pretended to go “hunting” in our Dayton, Ohio backyard.  Yes, our imaginations were unlimited and the need for electronics (that really didn’t even exist on a high level) didn’t seem necessary.

Fast-forward to the evenings, after dinner and our nightly “Little Debbie bedtime snack” had been eaten, and you would find the 5 of us together, in our family room.  We had a wonderful book called the “One-Year Book of Family Devotions” (one that Steve and I WILL get once Caleb is old enough to understand) that my dad would read to us, and then we would all try to guess the “Key Phrase” that came at the end of the story!  Afterward, we would all kneel together, at our family room couch, and finish the day by praying, thanking God for everything that He had done for us throughout the day.  My parents made a concerted effort to not just tell us that their faith in God was important, but to show us just how important He should be to us.  Family devotions happened EVERY SINGLE DAY, whether my dad was home or away at work.  (Something we’ll talk about next week!)  They were of the utmost importance.

After our devotional time ended, mom would bust out the blankets for Jason and I, whisk my baby-sister off to bed, and we would lay down and cuddle up, ready to listen to the best story-teller in the world…. Dad.  He would read us the Chronicles of Narnia, Stories from “The Magic Bicycle” series, and even “The Iron Scepter”.  Some of my favorite memories in the world of my dad include his “deep voice inflections, as he gave characters in the stories different voices as he worked to bring his reading to life!   Story time would end, and we would head to bed, looking forward to the next night when he might read 2 chapters instead of just 1!

This morning, as I was thinking about the memories that we’re trying to establish for our own son, I was brought back to remembering these treasured “Family Room” moments and I wanted to remind you to establish the same!

The Family Room was meant to do so much more than house several individuals doing their own thing.  It was meant for more than a TV and a chance to catch up on the day’s news.  The Family Room was meant for quality family time spent together.  It was meant for games to be played, stories to be read, and special family-friendly movies to be watched.  The Family Room was meant for memories to be created and moments of joy to be treasured!

What purpose is your family room serving?  Are you using that treasured room to make memories that will last, or filling it with moments that you’ll forget about tomorrow?  Let’s all work together to use the room for what it was meant…Family time!