Seriously, this was funny in such a sad way to me. This is what Sunday mornings, in Christian homes across America, look like. I know for sure our house looks like this at least half the time. And from what friends have revealed, when I came in looking frazzled and it showed, most of your houses have this same problem.
The Devil has our number, folks. He wants to prevent us from getting to church. He wants our minds so blurred on Sunday morning that we feel exhausted by the time we get to the good stuff! He wants us to feel stressed and angry at one another and just flat in a bad mood.
If Satan can accomplish that, he has control of your mind. And that mind, clouded with stress and anger and regret, simply has a hard time processing much of anything, much less the Good News.
We have to be smarter than that. We have to outwit the cunning one.
And I wish I had a sure fire plan, but I only have ideas. Some may work for you, some may not.
1. Watch this video. Pay close attention to the last two sentences on the screen. Don't, for one second believe the lie that YOUR FAMILY IS ALONE, ISOLATED, or WEIRD because Sundays look like this.
2. Pray for God to reveal anything causing anxiety and stress. Is it clothing that needs ironing? Would breakfast bars and boiled eggs be better than homemade waffles? Do you desire sleeping in vs. allowing enough time to properly get ready? Is the TV/social media distracting? Are you allowing enough time to get to church? Is your attitude about going to church in the wrong place? Are the chores unequally divided? Pinpoint the issues that need addressing for your house.
3. Address the issues from Point 2 with your spouse, then conduct a FAMILY MEETING. Be sure you start in prayer and ask God to the table. Explain that Sunday mornings should start the most pleasant day of the week but that, historically, they haven't. Let your kids have a say in what THEY can do differently to help. You might be surprised that little Johnny would like to tie his own Sunday shoes or clip on his own tie or put on his favorite belt.
4. Implement your plan this coming Sunday. If there are more than three changes, consider just tackling one or two this week, then add a third next week, and so on.
5. Immediately dump any plan that seems to be causing more friction than good. For example, if your family has been stopping by the donut store for breakfast before church but decides that you'll try breakfast at home and that change takes 20 minutes more and makes you late, then opt for donuts once a week. OR plan to start getting up earlier. It's YOUR choice for YOUR family!
6. On occasion you are going to revert to being the family in this video. Don't sweat it. Pray that God will show you where the backsliding started and take two steps back and start again.
7. When in doubt, pray. Talk it out with your spouse. Consult your best friends (without condemning the "cause", if s/he is a family member, of the problem).
There is little doubt in my mind that you will find that the Nowell family is one of many families who will stand beside you and say "Yes. We struggle with that."
You are not alone. You are never alone. Don't buy that lie.
Now may the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
Hebrews 13:20-21
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