Kurt Bruner - Holidays

There is toothpaste all over the plastic-covered table. Four young kids are having the time of their lives squeezing the paste out of the tubetrying to expunge every drop like Dad told them to. Okay, says Dad, slapping a twenty-dollar bill onto the table. The first person to get the toothpaste back into their tube gets this money! Little hands begin working to shove the peppermint pile back into rolled-up tubeswith very limited success.

Jim is in the midst of a weekly routine in the Weidmann home when he and his wife spend time creating impression points with the kids. We cant do it, Dad! protests the youngest child.

The Bible tells us thats just like your tongue. Once the words come out, its impossible to get them back in. You need to be careful what you say because you may wish you could take it back. An unforgettable impression is made.

Impression points occur every day of our lives. Intentionally or not, we impress upon our children our values, preferences, beliefs, quirks, and concerns. It happens both through our talk and through our walk. When we do it right, we can turn them on to the things we believe. But when we do it wrong, we can turn them off to the values we most hope they will embrace. The goal is to find ways of making this reality work for us, rather than against us. How? By creating and capturing opportunities to impress upon the next generation our values and beliefs. In other words, through what weve labeled impression points.

The kids are all standing at the foot of the stairs. Jim is at the top of that same staircase. They wait eagerly for Dads instructions.

Ill take you to Baskin Robbins for ice cream if you can figure how to get up here. He has the attention of all four kids. But there are a few rules. First, you cant touch the stairs. Second, you cant touch the railing. Now, begin!

After several contemplative moments, the youngest speaks up. Thats impossible, Dad! How can we get to where you are without touching the stairs or the railing?

After some disgruntled agreement from two of the other children, Jacob gets an idea. Hey, Dad. Come down here. Jim walks down the stairs. Now bend over while I get on your back. Okay, climb the stairs.

Bingo! Jim proceeds to parallel this simple game with how it is impossible to get to God on our own. But when we trust Christs completed work on our behalf, we can get to heaven. A lasting impression is made. After a trip up the stairs on Dads back, the whole gang piles into the minivan for a double scoop of mint-chip.

Six years ago, Jim and his wife Janet began setting aside time to intentionally impress upon the kids their values and beliefs through a weekly ritual called family night. They play games, talk, study, and do the things which reinforce the importance of family and faith. It is during these times that they intentionally create these impression points with their kids. The impact? The kids are having fun and a heritage is being passed.

intentional or oops?

Sometimes, we accidentally impress the wrong things on our kids rather than intentionally impressing the right things. But there is an effective, easy way to change that. Routine family nights are a powerful tool for creating intentional impression points with our children.

The concept behind family nights is rooted in a biblical mandate summarized in Deuteronomy 6:5-9.

Love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Impress them on your children.

How?

Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your fore-heads. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates.

In other words, we need to take advantage of every opportunity to impress our beliefs and values in the lives of our children. A growing network of parents are discovering family nights to be a highly effective, user-friendly approach to doing just that. As one father put it, This has changed our entire family life. And another dad, Our investment of time and energy into family nights has more eternal value than we may ever know. Why? Because they are intentionally teaching their children at the wisdom level, the level at which the children understand and can apply eternal truths.