{"id":40200,"date":"2013-06-20T08:00:05","date_gmt":"2013-06-20T13:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.austincnm.com\/?p=40200"},"modified":"2013-06-24T20:50:15","modified_gmt":"2013-06-25T01:50:15","slug":"four-keys-to-setting-our-families-ablaze-part-2-of-5-faith","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/four-keys-to-setting-our-families-ablaze-part-2-of-5-faith\/","title":{"rendered":"Four Keys to Setting Our Families Ablaze &#8211; Part 2 of 5 &#8211; Faith"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><a href=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mini_500_10882_123826151651710.jpg\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignleft size-medium wp-image-24240\" alt=\"Bonfire\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.austincnm.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2012\/10\/mini_500_10882_123826151651710-300x225.jpg?resize=300%2C225\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\" \/><\/a><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>&#8220;Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen &#8230; And without faith it is impossible to please Him.\u00a0 For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him&#8221; (Hebrews 11:1,6)<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>If our families are to be set ablaze, the FIRE begins with faith.\u00a0 The author of the Letter to the Hebrews reminds us that &#8220;without faith it is impossible to please&#8221; God.\u00a0 We can spend all weekend helping at the parish garage sale; we can teach religious education to the 3rd graders; we can donate thousands of dollars to buy a new crucifix for the church.\u00a0 We can do great things, but, without faith, it is <em>impossible<\/em> to please God.\u00a0 Did you hear that?\u00a0 Impossible!\u00a0 So, faith must come before everything else.\u00a0 Faith is the basis of everything we do &#8211; that is, if we aim to please God, if we aim to have our families be lights in this present darkness.\u00a0 As such, in this second part of the series, we will lay out three things that you can do in your family over the next month that will build up your family&#8217;s faith:<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>PRAY<\/strong> &#8211;\u00a0 Prayer signifies faith.\u00a0 If faith is &#8220;the assurance of things hoped for&#8221;, if it&#8217;s the &#8220;conviction of things not seen&#8221;, how better to point to the fact, to the <em>conviction<\/em>, that the invisible exists?\u00a0 Prayer points us to angels, to saints, to God, to the invisible.\u00a0 It reminds us that what we see, touch, taste, and feel is not all there is.\u00a0 Here are a few things to keep in mind with regard to prayer: <strong>(1) Pray frequently in short bursts, audibly<\/strong>.\u00a0 Don&#8217;t <em>just <\/em>pray before meals and at bed time.\u00a0 Pray audibly in simple words on the way to school, when you leave for a long car trip, or before a dance performance or a little league baseball game.\u00a0 For example, pray something like this as you take your child to school. &#8220;Lord, help us to see you in others today; help us to be you to those people.\u00a0 Give us the words of encouragement to help someone who&#8217;s having a bad day.&#8221;\u00a0 The prayer could be as simple as, &#8220;Jesus please help us today!&#8221;\u00a0 Bottom line, use every change of scenery as an opportunity to say a quick, simple prayer.\u00a0 St. Therese said that prayer is just a simple glance toward Heaven.\u00a0 So, just glance! <strong>(2) Pray specifically.<\/strong>\u00a0 Don&#8217;t pray in general terms.\u00a0 When we believed that the Lord directing us to move and that the move would require the selling of our house, we didn&#8217;t just pray for the sale of the house.\u00a0 We prayed that it would sell for a definitive amount and that the buyer would not want any work done.\u00a0 So, we prayed this: &#8220;if it is your will that we move, please provide a buyer who will offer no less than $149,000, Lord.\u00a0 Additionally, Lord, we request that the buyer not ask for anything to be fixed.&#8221;\u00a0 A realtor friend told us that we would have to do some improvements.\u00a0 So, in spite of our prayer, I began the project.\u00a0 The first person to look at it made an offer meeting our dollar amount, and then said, &#8220;please do not do any more work on the house.\u00a0 I have plans for the rest of the house&#8221;.\u00a0 God can handle specific requests.\u00a0 Furthermore, since the kids participated in our specific prayer, when we told them about the offer, they experienced the awe that faith brings.\u00a0 God answered the prayer! But even when He doesn&#8217;t answer the prayer in the way that we had hoped or prayed, we have an opportunity to teach.\u00a0 We, like God, have to say &#8220;No&#8221; or &#8220;Not right now&#8221;\u00a0 and that is for our ultimate good.\u00a0 It is an opportunity to teach that God has our best interest at heart &#8211; He only wants what is best for us.\u00a0 He always has the better plan! \u00a0<strong>(3) Pray as Jesus taught\u00a0 us<\/strong> &#8211; pray formal prayers as well, particularly the Our Father.\u00a0 Jesus and His Bride, the Church, provides these prayers that we might pray as we ought.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>READ, WATCH, AND TELL STORIES<\/strong> &#8211; Human beings love stories.\u00a0 St. Paul tells us that &#8220;faith comes from what is heard&#8221; (Romans 10:17).\u00a0 We need to hear about God and His relationship with Adam, Noah, Moses, David, and St. Peter.\u00a0 Hearing these stories reveals God to us.\u00a0 They show us how He works in the lives of those He loves.\u00a0 Here are a few things to implement: <strong>(1) Expose children to Bible Stories daily<\/strong>.\u00a0 Read the Bible, watch movies like <em>Veggie<\/em> <em>Tales <\/em>or <em>The Ten Commandments<\/em> or <em>The Prince of Egypt\u00a0<\/em>that tell the stories of the Bible. With younger children, start with Bible stories with cartoon pictures and age-appropriate language.\u00a0 As they grow older, move towards a <em>real<\/em> Bible.\u00a0 Particularly when they are young, focus on the stories &#8211; the feeding of the 5,000, David &amp; Goliath, Moses.\u00a0 They will keep their attention, and they provide great opportunities for discussion, which leads us to the next point.\u00a0 <strong>(2) Engage them with questions<\/strong>.\u00a0 Ask them how they would have felt as they looked at the charging chariots of Pharoah&#8217;s army on one side and the Red Sea on the other, leaving them trapped?\u00a0 How scared would they be walking on dry land through the Red Sea with walls of water on either side of them?\u00a0 The point is to get them to put themselves in the story and imagine what it would have been like, pointing out that there were children just like them there.\u00a0 Finally, <strong>(3) tell them stories of God&#8217;s intervention in your family&#8217;s life.\u00a0 <\/strong>If you haven&#8217;t done it yet, sit down and make a timeline of important events in your life.\u00a0 Pray that God will reveal His hand at work in your family.\u00a0 Write them down and tell them frequently.\u00a0 We&#8217;ve told our children about how we met through the mother of a guy who met Stephanie when she was 21 on a trip from Louisiana to Houston and met me when I was 22 because of the closing of a high school.\u00a0 The important point is that God was orchestrating our meeting years in advance.\u00a0 The children need to know that just like Moses and David, God is involved intimately and personally in our lives as well.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<ul>\n<li><strong>MAKE CONNECTIONS BETWEEN FAITH AND LIFE &#8211;<\/strong> Faith and life intersect in every day moments.\u00a0 We just need to pray for the eyes to see them and then help our children make those connections.\u00a0 When my oldest was eight, baseball practice was rained out.\u00a0 His response to me, &#8220;How could God do this to me?&#8221;\u00a0 I guess he saw God at work in the rain.\u00a0 In those situations, teach.\u00a0 Connect the dots.\u00a0 I told Him that he was right in that God was in charge of all things, even the weather.\u00a0 But, I then asked him, &#8220;do you think anyone might really need the rain more than you need the practice?&#8221;\u00a0 We lived right behind some farm land.\u00a0 He said, &#8220;I guess people who grow stuff could use the rain&#8221;.\u00a0 I responded, &#8220;what might happen if no rain came ever and you never had a practice cancelled?&#8221;\u00a0 He said, &#8220;I guess that they would have no money, and we would have no food&#8221;.\u00a0 He finished with, &#8220;I guess it&#8217;s ok that it rained today.\u00a0 Can I pray that it doesn&#8217;t tomorrow?\u00a0 I want to practice.&#8221;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p>If each of our families just picks one of the above to try and implement in our family over the next month, we&#8217;ll be well on our way to setting our families ablaze.\u00a0 Which one will you choose?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>&#8220;Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen &#8230; And without faith it is impossible to please Him.\u00a0 For whoever would draw near to God must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who seek Him&#8221; (Hebrews 11:1,6) &nbsp; If our families are to be set&#8230;&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2013\/06\/four-keys-to-setting-our-families-ablaze-part-2-of-5-faith\/\">[Read&nbsp;More]<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":157,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[671],"tags":[215,51,50,125,720,165,1765],"class_list":["post-40200","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","category-column","tag-bible","tag-catholicism","tag-faith","tag-life","tag-parenthood","tag-parenting","tag-story-telling","entry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":160348,"url":"https:\/\/atxcatholic.com\/index.php\/2015\/10\/sunday-says-october-11-2015-mass-readings-and-reflection\/","url_meta":{"origin":40200,"position":0},"title":"Sunday Says &#8211; October 11, 2015 Mass Readings and Reflection","author":"Crist\u00f3bal Almanza Herrera","date":"October 11, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"October 11, 2015 Twenty-eighth Sunday in Ordinary Time Lectionary: 143 (NAB Translation) Reading 1 Wisdom 7:7-11 In this week\u2019s first reading from the book of Wisdom, we hear a section of praises for Sophia (Wisdom), but her name is never mentioned. 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