I've finally come to the realization that Family Home Evening is encouraged to help parents stay humble!
I wish they would just say, look, you need to learn humility and here's a manual on what you can do to be humble. Instead, they tell us to have Family Home Evening - - and here's a manual on what you should try and teach your children. I used to think that the mocking during lessons, the seeming lack of caring on their faces, the look of "can't we just get this over with"? written on their foreheads - - all of that during family home evening lessons were indicators that I was a total failure as a parent. However, now I understand that the true purpose of FHE is to humble the parents - - not help the children. I no longer take offence at the mockery, the lack of participation and the non-caring attitudes. They are fully expected now that I understand the true reason for FHE.
The issue is this. They knew that all teenagers have brain damage and are going to act as previously described. It is impossible for that not to be the case. So what better way would there be to humble the parents than to give them a commandment to try and teach the gospel to their teenagers - - who will never really want to participate - - EVERY MONDAY NIGHT!
All I can say is it works! I used to think that I was a pretty good teacher. Actually I thought that I was better than most at teaching gospel principles (LeNell would have a real disagreement with that, but hey I though I was pretty good). Now, I realize that I must be on the bottom of the Totem Pole of gospel teachers, because I can't even get my own kids to sit up and stay awake during FHE let alone learn an important gospel topic.
So, FHE works. It has brought me to my knees recognizing my own nothingness and that I have absolutely nothing to offer my kids at home. Maybe now that I'm at ground zero, I can start to rebuild the tower in hopes of maybe giving a reasonably good speech at Ward Conference in October. I think I need to start now planning and preparing something that may keep the youth in our ward interested for the 10 minutes I'm supposed to talk.
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4 comments:
Dad - come on, be easy on yourself. Even though we acted like we hated it, we really appreciated all those lessons and it helped us - i know it did. We couldn't act like we loved it, though. We weren't nerds. I'm sure Ryan and Buff will say the same things when they're my age. Oh, and when shane and I live in Heber, we'll come to your fam home evenings and participate and act like we like the lessons - i promise.
We went through many hard times trying to have FHE, many nights ending in a lecture. But I have learned thru the years that FHE is a huge blessing and a comfort when going through hard times. Those blessings do come from faithfully having FHE.
yeah uncle bruce, i have to agree with jamie and my mom. when you're a teenager you have to be hardcore and pretend like you have better things to do than singing love at home with your mom doing vibrato at the top of her lungs. (okay that was a little exaggerated, sorry mom) but honestly sometimes FHE and family scriptures are when i get the most revelation and answer to my problems. just keep up the good work!
oh and just a litte sidenote: sometimes it's good for dads to be a little humbled cuz they sometimes think they are ALL THAT when they give lessons and lectures and it's like . . . Hello, we are not in gospel doctrine! but most of the time we love you anyways:)
okay sorry dad but it was a little boring so next time can you try to do something a little more upbeat and fun for FHE, like maybe lets go to dairy keen and listen to people swear at the bowling alley!!!
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