Focus on the Family Magazine - December 2023/January 2024
It can be a struggle to raise a family while balancing your work life, social life and relationships. Focus on the Family magazine is here to help! Each complimentary issue delivers fresh, practical Biblical guidance on family and life topics. Every issue comes packed with relevant advice to build up your kids, strengthen your marriage, navigate entertainment and culture, and handle common challenges you may face in your marriage and parenting journeys. Plus you'll find seasonal advice ranging from back-to-school activities to date night tips for you and your spouse.
It can be a struggle to raise a family while balancing your work life, social life and relationships. Focus on the Family magazine is here to help! Each complimentary issue delivers fresh, practical Biblical guidance on family and life topics.
Every issue comes packed with relevant advice to build up your kids, strengthen your marriage, navigate entertainment and culture, and handle common challenges you may face in your marriage and parenting journeys. Plus you'll find seasonal advice ranging from back-to-school activities to date night tips for you and your spouse.
- No tags were found...
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
KIDS & TEENS / SERVICE<br />
The pen is mightier . . .<br />
Sometimes <strong>the</strong> most effective way to bless some<strong>on</strong>e is<br />
pretty simple. Culture has trained us to believe that blessings<br />
arrive in pretty boxes accompanied by gift receipts.<br />
But time and commitment to a relati<strong>on</strong>ship are often <strong>the</strong><br />
better gift.<br />
A friend inspired me recently through her dedicati<strong>on</strong> to<br />
a passing art form: <strong>the</strong> handwritten note. She sits with her<br />
children and pulls <strong>the</strong>m out of texting mode for an evening,<br />
encouraging <strong>the</strong>m to do what our grandparents did—simply<br />
write a letter about stuff. If you want to do <strong>the</strong> same,<br />
you can have your kids write about <strong>the</strong> simple things—<br />
that recent math test, a funny story, <strong>the</strong> friends <strong>the</strong>y hang<br />
out with, what <strong>the</strong>y’re worried or excited about. One of<br />
<strong>the</strong> sweetest by-products of this o<strong>the</strong>rs-centered, outside<strong>the</strong>ir-comfort-z<strong>on</strong>e<br />
exercise is creativity. Encourage your<br />
children to use skills learned in school to bless o<strong>the</strong>rs,<br />
especially those in <strong>the</strong>ir lives who may feel forgotten. And<br />
though Christmas is a great time to begin this exercise, it’s<br />
best if <strong>the</strong> gift is <strong>on</strong>e of an <strong>on</strong>going commitment. Christmas<br />
letters in July? Why not?<br />
A multitude of opportunities<br />
There are countless “o<strong>the</strong>rs-centered” activities at our fingertips.<br />
We d<strong>on</strong>’t have to look far to find a homeless shelter<br />
needing supplies or a soup kitchen needing hands or a<br />
food bank needing shelf stockers. There are children who<br />
need warm clo<strong>the</strong>s, neighbors who need help or friendship.<br />
Have we slowed down enough to know? Have we trained<br />
our kids to look outside <strong>the</strong>mselves to see?<br />
I often try to c<strong>on</strong>nect an o<strong>the</strong>rs-centered worldview with<br />
<strong>the</strong> positive effects it has <strong>on</strong> us. So, after my family and I<br />
give our time or our resources, I ask <strong>the</strong> questi<strong>on</strong>, “How<br />
does it feel?” When d<strong>on</strong>e <strong>on</strong> <strong>the</strong> sly, without getting something<br />
in return, <strong>the</strong> pure act of giving jolts even <strong>the</strong> jaded.<br />
One year, my family made a trip to <strong>the</strong> dollar store,<br />
where we all pooled our m<strong>on</strong>ey to buy coloring books<br />
requested by a local organizati<strong>on</strong> that provided disadvantaged<br />
kids with wrapped gifts.<br />
My kids raced to <strong>the</strong> back of <strong>the</strong> store where <strong>the</strong> books<br />
resided. They perused all <strong>the</strong> opti<strong>on</strong>s, loading our cart with<br />
a variety of books for girls and a separate stack for boys. As<br />
<strong>the</strong>y worked, it struck <strong>the</strong>m that each of <strong>the</strong>se books would<br />
be some child’s Christmas gift.<br />
THE PEACE PROJECT: A 30-DAY<br />
EXPERIMENT PRACTICING THANK-<br />
FULNESS, KINDNESS AND MERCY<br />
by Kay Wills Wyma<br />
This 30-day experiment invites you to experience<br />
pers<strong>on</strong>al peace through <strong>the</strong> outward practices of<br />
thankfulness, kindness and mercy. In <strong>the</strong>se hopeful<br />
pages, Kay encourages us to see o<strong>the</strong>rs—as well<br />
as ourselves—not as obstacles but as people of<br />
great worth.<br />
Shop.<str<strong>on</strong>g>Focus</str<strong>on</strong>g>OnThe<strong>Family</strong>.ca<br />
“Is this all <strong>the</strong>se kids are getting for Christmas?” <strong>on</strong>e child<br />
asked.<br />
“I d<strong>on</strong>’t know, swee<strong>the</strong>art. I do know that each kid will at<br />
least get to open something.”<br />
The o<strong>the</strong>rs p<strong>on</strong>dered this. “We have to get <strong>the</strong>m markers,<br />
too,” <strong>on</strong>e said.<br />
I watched and soaked in <strong>the</strong> moment. As we drove away, my<br />
passenger-seat child floated some music my way: “You know,<br />
Mom. I really d<strong>on</strong>’t need anything for Christmas.”<br />
“What do you mean?” I asked.<br />
“Well . . . it’s just . . . I d<strong>on</strong>’t need anything.”<br />
I didn’t press him. We both understood. Faced with <strong>the</strong> fact<br />
that lots of kids would be thrilled to get a coloring book and<br />
markers—items my kids might c<strong>on</strong>sider peripheral—it made<br />
<strong>the</strong> hoped-for iPad a bit less desirable.<br />
My husband, J<strong>on</strong>, and I never want our kids to feel guilty<br />
about receiving gifts during this joy-filled seas<strong>on</strong>. We want<br />
<strong>the</strong>m to freely enjoy <strong>the</strong> gifts <strong>the</strong>y get in <strong>the</strong> same way that<br />
our heavenly Fa<strong>the</strong>r wants us to enjoy <strong>the</strong> w<strong>on</strong>derful and<br />
amazing gifts bestowed <strong>on</strong> us. But my hope and prayer are<br />
that remembering o<strong>the</strong>rs this seas<strong>on</strong> and meeting needs will<br />
move <strong>the</strong> hearts and minds of my kids. What I hope <strong>the</strong>y’ll<br />
gain is a clear recogniti<strong>on</strong> of <strong>the</strong> greatest gift ever given.<br />
Kay Wills Wyma is <strong>the</strong> author of The Peace Project: A 30-day experiment<br />
practicing thankfulness, kindness and mercy.<br />
This article was first published in <strong>the</strong> <strong>December</strong> 2012 editi<strong>on</strong> of Thriving<br />
<strong>Family</strong> magazine. © 2012 Kay Wills Wyma. All rights reserved. Used with<br />
permissi<strong>on</strong>.<br />
ADOBE CREDIT STOCK TK - TWINS DESIGN STUDIO<br />
16<br />
FOCUS ON THE FAMILY CANADA<br />
DEC <strong>2023</strong> / JAN <strong>2024</strong>
Change language