Pictures Worth 1,000 Connections
by Melody McCoy, FBC member
Sure, you have enough family pictures from the last few years to fill a warehouse! But what about those dusty pictures of ancestors your children wouldn't recognize, but without whom your present-day family wouldn't be the same? Setting aside time to view those pictures together enhances children's strong sense of family and identity.
A few years ago after Thanksgiving dinner, my husband Bob and I placed informal clusters of old photos around our living room. No one in our family has forgotten the results!
As we invited our children, Dan and Katy, into the "gallery," their eyes widened when they saw Grandma and Grandpa's wedding photos, Granddaddy's senior picture as high-school class president, and Grandmother as a 15-year-old basketball player. Then they were introduced to their ancestor who was the loudest "shouter" at her Primitive Baptist church; the farmer who planted maple trees still standing in West Tennessee . . . Sure, Dan and Katy smiled at the clothing fashions of each era, but that just added fun and a sense of history! We also pointed out who had owned the inherited furniture and family items that Dan and Katy see every day at home, making a connection with their everyday lives.
Family Picture Night is worth the effort! Ask to borrow ancestor photos from your parents and grandparents if you need to. Lifelong rewards result when children realize they're part of a human stream of unique, loving, fallible, and (if you're fortunate) godly family members.
Also in the November 20, 2007 Issue of The Evangel
» Frank and to the Point
» Hanging of the Green Is Sunday, December 2
» Global Missions Banquet
» Hockey Night on December 8
» Poinsettia Reservations Due Sunday, November 25
» Christmas Parade Activities on December 7
» Pictures Worth 1,000 Connections
» December Staff Birthdays
» Have you donated to the NBA Toy Store?
» 2007 Contribution Deadlines
» Student Ministry Stuff
» New Church Directory
» Discipleship Opportunities
» Send Christmas Cards and Support Missions at the Same Time!
» 2007 Advent Devotional Guide Available November 25
» Service of Remembrance and Hope on December 9
» This Week in Worship
