Reclaiming our Family

Have you ever felt like what you were doing just wasn't working? You're working as hard as you can, moving as fast as you can go, and yet, you feel like you can't keep up or get it all done? You're not alone. Life can be absolutely chaotic, and, no matter how hard you try, you can feel like a total failure. This is especially true if you're a parent.

Lately we have been struggling with the feeling of frustration as parents. A couple of years ago, we made the conscious decision to be more intentional with our kids. We were in a place where we realized that we wanted more for our family. We wanted to create memories, have adventures, write stories, and experience life together. But this last year has left the idea of being intentional in the dust.
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Like so many families, we've gotten ourselves all caught up in the busyness of life. We run and run and run, and rarely slow down long enough to connect, rest or be refreshed.

This week the busyness came to a head. Together, Amy and I, decided that we can't keep living this way. We are running out of time with our kids, and we refuse to be okay with life as it is. We need a change and we need it now.

So what do you do when life is moving at breakneck speeds and everything feels like it's falling a part?

You stop, reprioritize and adjust.

And, that's what we're going to do.
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We believe that our family is our top priority; that it's our job, our responsibility to train up our children. It's on us as 

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We've just starting reading Intentional Parenting, by Linda Stahnke. Learn more by clicking on the book. 

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parents to be the spiritual leaders of our family, to help them discover their purposes and to live lives that glorify God.

​Starting now, we are reclaiming our family. No more busyness for busyness sake. No more running around like crazy. No more allowing the worlds idea of normal to be our normal. No more sacrificing family. No more compromising the call we believe God has given to us as parents, as a husband and a wife, and as full-time ministry workers.

How?

By once again being intentional. That means thinking through what we do as parents, as a family. It means speaking Truth into the lives of our kids. It means creating moments, memories, traditions, and stories. It means laughing, crying, resting, and connected. It means living in grace, love, forgiveness, and mercy. It means putting our family and our faith, and the responsibility of being parents first and foremost. It means, we're having do-over.

​What will intentional parenting look like for a family of seven? Well, there will be changes. We will begin thinking more about what we do and why we do it. We will focus more on God's call to care for, train up, and be with our kids. We will make more time for us as mom and dad. We will evaluate how we do ministry, so to be sure that we serve faithfully, while still making sure our family comes first.

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Starting now, we are reclaiming our family. No more compromising the call we believe God has given to us as parents, as a husband and a wife, and as full-time ministry workers.

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Life is too short, not to make family one of our highest priorities. Not to mention that God has given us the responsibility of raising our kids. This fall, our oldest goes off to college. Our second born will be a senior. Number three is now a freshman in high school. Five will be in sixth grade. And the princess, she's looking and acting more and more like a 'tween eery day! (And she's only 8!!!)

So we have to do this. We have to reclaim our family.

​- the higham family

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