Meetings

Some people cringe at the sight of that word.  Meetings!  I have talked to people who feel like all they do is go to meetings, whether it be for their job, their kids school, or for sports.  However, there is one place where many people do not do meetings at all.  I know what you might say, "John, are you going to tell me I have to have another meeting?"  And my answer is yes.  This meeting however, will be the most important to your life and well being.  Family Meetings  How many of you would say that you have family meetings, whether informal like eating dinner together or a scheduled time?  Family meetings are important part of family life and can be pivital to the level of health in your family.

Some ideas for setting up family meetings.
- Have a specific time and place scheduled out
- Have rules set in place such as: one person talks at a time, everyone gets to participate, respect one another, etc.
- Talk about things that are pertinate to your family and its members.  If Johnny is playing soccer and trumpet, discuss those things.
-  Allow all members to share ideas, however, this is not a time for griping.  However it is ok to talk about things that are not going right.
- Do an activity such as RED YELLOW GREEN Light Family.  Red- for things that should stop, Yellow- for things that we should be cautious about Green- things that are going right.
- Dont be afraid to talk about difficult, awkward issues.
- Allow agreements, rule changes, etc to be made to benefit the family.
- Keep things positive.  Lift up, praise, encourage.

Questions.....
1) Would our family benefit from having meetings to come together and talk about life?
2) Can we make it a priority even if it has to interfere with other activities?
3) What sort of topics should be discussed?


 

The Month of Love

February, the love month!  As I typed that I got an image of hippies from the 70's dancing around chanting love and peace.  :-)  Valentines day is every February 14th and millions of people around the country celebrate by sending flowers, going out to dinner and spending time with their significant others.  But significant others are not the only ones in our lives that we love.  We love our families, our parents, our children, our siblings, and so on.  How we love these people looks different for each individual.  I read a book a while back called "The Five Love Languages" by Gary Chapman that talks about our five different ways we show and receive love.  I have used it in my practice as a way to help parents and others be intentional about how they show their children and teens love.  There are times we need to examine how we show love to people in our lives as each of us has different ways we receive love.  Gifts, Physical Touch, Quality Time, Words of Affirmation and Acts of Service are the five love languages, I would love to have you come in and take the test and see what you and your families love languages are.  It just might give you that <3 feeling.

Questions:
1) What are ways I show my family, children, and or teens love?
2) Am I showing love in a way that they can truly receive it as love?
3) Am I doing things that cancel out the love I show to my family?
4) Should I schedule an appt and get a love check up?