Earlier this year several thousand Lake Pointe attendees completed a self-graded appraisal in which we asked ourselves several important questions:
□ Have I intentionally nurtured a strong marriage?
□ Have I been intentional about passing the faith to my children or grandchildren?
□ Am I living out my faith at home where it matters most?
I hold in my hands the results of those surveys. It turns out we graded ourselves only slightly above mediocre; a C+ average. That grade might keep us out of summer school, but it certainly won’t land us on the honor roll.
As you may recall, the HomePointe Appraisal provides a list of common activities that characterize a God-honoring marriage as well as being an intentional parent or grandparent. Here is a list of the activities we said we do well and those we don’t…
Married Couples are MOST likely to....
- - Demonstrate meaningful touch and/or verbal affirmation at least once per day
- - Have a time of focused, non-task driven communication at least three times weekly
- - Make an effort to take care of self physically and emotionally to be best partner possible
Married Couples are LEAST likely to....
- - Pray with spouse at least twice per week (excluding saying grace at meals)
- - Write a note, give a flower, etc. at least twice per month
- - Have a “date night” twice or more per month
Parents & Grandparents are MOST likely to...
-
- Connect relationally with children at least once per day or with grandchildren at least once per month
-
- Do something special with children at least twice per month
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- Quickly apologize or forgive after a conflict
Parents & Grandparents are LEAST likely to...
- - Pray with children (including meals, bedtime, etc.) at least five times per week
- - Have any kind of intergenerational faith experience with children or grandchildren beyond attending church services
Among these and other “holy habits” needed to build a strong family, you’ll notice that prayer is the least likely to be taking place – whether between husbands and wives or between parents and their children. That’s unfortunate, since praying together has a dramatic impact on creating a lasting marriage and upon the faith formation of kids. In fact, a Gallup and Psychology Today study revealed that there is a powerful correlation between couples praying together and marital happiness. In his book Faithful Attraction, researcher Andrew Greeley called it “the most powerful we have yet discovered.”
For many of us, praying at home is at best an awkward obligation, at worst completely absent from our marriage or parenting experience. But it doesn’t have to be that way. Let me assign a bit of homework that might improve our collective GPA in this one important area.
Homework Assignment: Starting on September 13th you can stop by the HomePointe Center before or after services to pick up a copy of our brand new Prayer@Home guide, calendar and audio CD. It contains easy to implement ideas for incorporating the holy habit of prayer into your marriage and family routine. You can also check-out some of the other resources available to help in this area. (To listen to the podcast now - click HERE.)
If you want to take the appraisal to evaluate your current level of intentionality, stop by the HomePointe Center to pick up a copy or go to HomePointe.org
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