FBH Ch. 1

I just started reading the book Faith Begins at Home:  The Family Makeover with Christ at the Center by Mark Holmen and am absolutely LOVING it.  I have had a hard time putting it down.

Our church, and entire community for that matter, is in dire need of some major revamping when it comes to our Children's Ministry Programs, or lack thereof.  As the mother of a little girl who, in a few short years, will be entering Sunday School classes, I feel the need to get this ball rolling now, rather than wait until Natalie is in these classes.  With a bunch of other parents on board already, we have seen discussion and action starting to take place.  A dear friend of mine recommended this book after talking with one of his classmates, author Mark Holmen.

As a way to keep notes for myself, I have decided to write a bit about the book as I go through it.  So, this is the start of it all...FBH (Faith Begins at Home) Ch. 1:

So many parents now-a-days treat church as a 'drop-off zone' for their children on Sunday mornings and Wednesday nights for church activities.  Unfortunately this has created the habit of 'playing' a Christian for a couple hours on Sundays and Wednesdays rather than actually 'being' a Christian the entire week through.  Parents NEED to get involved as well...to help carry this through the week. 

Joshua 24:14 says "Now fear the Lord and serve him with all faithfulness."  Holmen points out that God asked us to serve the Lord with ALL faithfulness, not just SOME, because SOME allows sin to creep in, and sin hurts (and even destroys) families. 

I hate the phrase "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."  Why is it okay in our society for you to act one way in Vegas and then return home and pretend like nothing happened????  Same with Sundays and Wednesdays versus the entire week.  Why is it okay in our present day society to 'play' the role of the Christian on Sundays and Wednesdays but then not 'be' that same Christian throughout the entire week? 

God asks us to serve him with ALL faithfulness, granted this is very hard to do, but in Jeremiah 29:11 he reminds us that he has our best interest in mind.  " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "  Sounds like a great deal to me!

So, the question is...where do we start in order to change this view so common in society?  IN OUR OWN HOMES! and I vow to do just that...to raise up my children in a home where we desire to serve the Lord with ALL faithfulness and 'be' a Christian all week long! 

At the end of each chapter there are some activities that help you to implement what you have just read.  Activity 1 for Ch. 1 is to Bless Your Home by praying in each room of the house.  I hope to make this a tradition that the Fast family does at the beginning of each year as our family grows.  Activity 3 for this chapter is to write a Family Mission Statement.  I want to do this as well, but hope to add to/edit it as our family grows.

This was only Chapter 1 and I'm loving it already.  Excited for Chapter 2!