Liz Pemberton August 14th 2016 ~ What's on the Menu at Home?
Are you a keen home cook? Do you like whipping up delicious, creative meals on a regular basis? Or are you someone who avoids the kitchen as much as possible? Or perhaps you are somewhere in between. I’m not sure exactly where I fall on the scale but let’s say I’m a reasonable home cook but often get rather stuck in a rut when it comes to meal planning. After a number of years cooking for a family (and especially for one family member with very particular food preferences) I am a little weary on inspiration. Spaghetti bolognese, tacos and pizza appear on our menu probably just a bit too often!Well, just as our menu planning can become a little boring and lacking in inspiration, so can the way we do faith and discipleship in our homes and families. Perhaps we rely on ‘eating out’ (getting spiritual input from church etc) a bit too much and have lost our way a bit when it comes to creating opportunities to grow and share faith with our families and friends in our everyday life. If that sounds like you, read on…The good thing is that doing faith at home doesn’t have to be like a 3-course meal which takes hours to prepare. In fact, ideally it is a lot more like spaghetti bolognese, something familiar, easy and enjoyed by everyone.A while ago at St Pips we put together a ‘recipe book’ with some ideas for building faith into family life. Maybe dig that out if you have it at home (or we can sell a copy to you!) but here are some reminders of some simple things you can also do. (These tips are adapted from a great article called Helping Faith to Grow by Victoria Beech). NB the word ‘family’ below doesn’t just mean parents and kids but all kinds of families and friendship groups.
- Stop feeling guilty about what you are not doing or what you ought to be doing. Identify what you are already doing and celebrate that! Most of us are doing more than we realise.
- Be flexible and do whatever works for your family/friendship group at this particular point in time. Routines and rhythms change; build into them whatever will work.
- Be creative and bring Jesus into whatever you already like to do together. If you have kids in your family, why not go for a bike ride, stop for a snack and share a favourite Bible story. Watch a DVD together and chat about where you could see God’s values being lived out or the choices the characters make. Adults could go for a coffee or dinner and simply include questions like “Where did you see God at work today?” in the conversation. Read a book, go to a film/concert/sports event or listen to a podcast together and share thoughts. And don’t forget the value of reading the Bible and praying together, no matter how old you are!
One more thing: I am looking for someone who might be a bit of a champion of ‘faith-at-home’ at St Philips. This doesn’t mean an expert is required but simply someone who thinks it’s important - someone who could keep encouraging us as a church to keep doing it. Love to talk to you if that sounds like you!Many blessings,Liz