Family Home Evening Struggles

Since I confessed in my last post that the Fortenberry Four is far from perfect, I will keep going with my confession.  I have struggled with Family Home Evening since my kids were very small.  We've been regular, semi-regular and non-existent with our FHE over the years.  In the last year, I have struggled.  If family dinners are going to kill my son, then FHE is going to kill my daughter.  

I have tried to be diligent in making sure that we gather together, and I am learning the flexibility is the key for our family.  For instance, I let Jessica plan this week's FHE.  I told her that we could have a movie night, if she wanted.   I gave her two guidelines.  The movie had to be PG (no PG-13 for FHE) and it had to have a message.  She picked an old favorite - Raise Your Voice with Hilary Duff.  I was worried that it would be too much of a chick flick for Jonathan, but he enjoyed it and it had a great message.  The message from the movie was that you can never give up despite the trials that come into your life.  I tied in a favorite quote from President Uchtdorf that fit Jessica's message.  Family Home Evening got a lot easier when I relaxed and made it more flexible. 

Next week, I am planning on talking about Family History.  Hopefully, it will be fun and no one will feel like I am torturing them or trying to kill them. 

What I've learned from teaching Sunday School to the 14 and 15 year olds at church is that I am not the only parent that isn't perfect.  I love those crazy teenagers and they are so honest and it makes me wonder what nuggets of truth my own kids are sharing with their teachers.   Many of them have shared with me that their parents struggle with FHE, too.  That makes me feel so much better!