Episode # 108 Fighting the World's Culture by Creating Your Own
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And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, so that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
Romans 12:2
Thousands of times a day, we are accosted by messages from the world. Commercials, ads, the internet, television, social media: instagram, facebook, pinterest, twitter, magazines pour the messages of the world into our lives constantly. These messages will shape the values, convictions, foundations of truth, view of morality in subliminal ways as well as active ways. We are also influenced by peer pressure where we see and hear these messages all the time.
Yet, if we do not want to have our own hearts and minds shaped by these worldly values, we have to figure out how to build a home culture that is more appealing, more satisfying and delightful so that we will be the foundational influence in the lives of our children and for ourselves. In this podcast today, I will be reviewing chapters 4 and 5 from The Lifegiving Table and I hope it will further encourage you as to why investing in the value of our table is profoundly important to the shaping and nurturing of our souls as we seek to grow strong in Christ.
Imagine, even if you just eat together 365 times each year, one meal a day, and start out with prayer of thanks to God, how in a lifetime, it will be over 7000 times that you and your children will practice remembering God as the center of your life together before you eat. It will place patterns in our brains with the habit of being grateful to God every day together as a family value.
What does it mean to be transformed, changed, and reshaped as an antidote to being conformed to the world? In this episode, Sally ponders these ideas as she discusses chapters four and five of the Life-giving Table and teaches us about how family culture has the distinct and grace-giving power to both change and protect us. She inspires listeners to instill a sense of "this is who we are" and "this is what we believe" into the hearts of her children as they gather at the table, and gives tools to not only create a vision to define our own family culture, but to practically cultivate a legacy.
I hope that you are encouraged by today's podcast. Let us know what you think below.
What We talk about:
Chapter 4: This is who we are: Shaping a Family Culture Around the Table
Discipleship Principle: Practicing the Rhythms of life regularly with your loved ones creates a secure feeling of belonging- of being welcomed and able to share convictions and faith in a community where one belongs.
-That your family culture needs to be a stronger pull than the culture of the world--you have to define it in such a way that your children will love it, flourish in it, grow in it and feel they belong
-That a unique family culture does not happen by chance and that you must fight to keep it going
- Why creating a family culture is particularly important in our too busy, fast paced and demanding worldly culture
-How to cultivate daily rhythms that keep us anchored in the storms of life
-Creating a cultural battle plan
-How a Kingdom culture means we are stewards of God's messages
-How to create a culture of honor, where our children recognize the significance and worth of human beings created in God's image
-How to create a culture of hospitality, where it becomes a pattern to serve others
-Defining a family culture for YOUR family and determining what characteristics you want it to reflect
-How to cultivate a culture of conversation
-Navigating squabbles at the table and teaching our children how to consider one another wisely.
"That's something I've noticed about food; whenever there's a crises if we can get people to eating normally things get better." -Madeleine L'Engle
Acts 2:42 NASB"They were continually devoting themselves to the apostle's teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer."
Luke 24:14-15- "They were talking with each other about all these things which had taken place. While they were talking and discussing, Jesus Himself approached and began traveling with them."
Chapter 5 The Gift of Dinnertime Conversation
Table-Discipleship Principle:
Shaping the mind and heart through repeated discussions about truth, beauty, and righteousness and engaging in these ideas regularly shapes convictions that last a lifetime.
"The most influential of all education factors is the conversation in a child's home." William Temple
Our aim is the heart--always, our discipline was focussed on the heart, our training was focussed on the heart--what are we teaching, modeling, saying, loving that fills our children's hearts with the truth and worth of God and His reality. We embrace and celebrate God's truth and values in our own lives through the ways we live each moment and they don't just hear it from our lips and in our instruction, but they see if lived out every day. Your faith must be real and vibrant to pass on a real and living faith.
Psalm 51:6 reminds us, "Behold, You desire truth in the innermost being,
And in the hidden part You will make me know wisdom".
*IN age of cell phones and instant response, the gentle art of conversation is being lost--yet each of us longs to be heard, understood, known and affirmed in our deepest feelings and desires. You cannot look into the eyes of someone sending you text message. Opening a deep relationship requires time and focussed attention. James says, be quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger--hear, really hear the heart of what your loved one is saying--don't just judge them for their words.
*Teaching consideration must be a value learned at your table--no fighting, bullying, criticizing, yelling,
*Valuing honor and practicing it so we can learn to honor and hear God.
Some verses we memorized as a family from Proverbs:
A gentle answer turns away wrath.
Even a fool seems to be wise if he keeps his mouth closed.
There is so much more in these chapters so be sure to read and underline, as well as recipes, so be sure to get your copy of this book today.
