Family

The holidays are a perfect time for families to have game nights or even game days!  Games teach children invaluable lessons about strategy, logic, and skill but also about how to get along with others, what consequences mean, and how to be a good loser and a gracious winner.  Taking time to invest in games for kids is a great activity for parents and you may actually have fun too!  See our list of games for families below to enjoy!

• Support our mission and choose a great thank you gift: https://messyfamilyproject.org/give
• Games list mentioned: https://messyfamilyproject.org/resources/games-we-love

“When we recall Christmas past, we usually find that the simplest things—not the great occasions—give off the greatest glow of happiness.” – Bob Hope

The holidays are an important “memory making time” for children because these are the years in which their impressions are sometimes bigger than life, bigger than reality!  Parents need to be very intentional about the messages that they are sending to their children through the way that they spend their time, energy, and money.  In this podcast we take some time to review the importance of family culture for the formation of identity, belonging and mission.  But then we get into the practical side of the holidays and give some tips and tricks that all parents can benefit from!  Listen in!

“Families are the ultimate and best example of a team”

Every family is made up of individual people with strengths and weaknesses. Knowing these enables us to work together better! Patrick Lencioni, celebrated author and speaker, has found that there are six “geniuses” found in effective teams. Every person has two of them. When we find out our working genius and that of our spouse, we can function more effectively for the good of our family. Listen in to this podcast where we talk about the six working geniuses, how to figure out what yours is, and why it’s important.

Working Genius book and free resources – https://www.workinggenius.com/resources

Messy Family University events – https://www.messyfamilyproject.org/university/

Join the community of the Messy Family Neighborhood – https://www.messyfamilyproject.org/membership/

“Most people spend more time planning a one-week vacation than they spend planning their life.”  ~ Michael Hyatt

As we begin a new school year and the fall season we think this is a perfect time to start or re-start a new habit or routine in your family and be more intentional about your family culture. This is a great time for your family to do a reset! Too often we put off making changes in our family, or it ends with us just talking about it. But it doesn’t have to be that way. This is a special podcast that we did in front of a virtual “studio audience” – couples from our member site!  We recorded it with them and will be starting small accountability groups to keep the resolutions from the “reset” going.  After listening to this podcast if you want to join a small group, let us know!  Or maybe you want to get together with some of your friends and do a “reset” together.  Use this time of new schedules to make some new fresh habits for you and your family.  We are always called to begin again and move upward and onward to strengthen our family culture!

Food is love, but it’s only love if it’s shared. ~ Fr. Leo Patalinghug

Family dinner is something so simple yet so important and foundational in your family culture.  We need to constantly be reminded and encouraged to take time to focus on those relationships in our family daily, or at least weekly.  In this fun, engaging conversation with Fr. Leo, we discuss family dinners, but also inviting others into our homes, and how to have true leisure. Fr. Leo makes the point that dinners together are not just important, they are actually essential! In this podcast we also talk about our upcoming cruise with Fr. Leo to Portugal and Fatima next spring.  It is a river cruise through wine country but also to several shrines and holy places, particularly the blessed shrine of Our Lady of Fatima.  We are blessed to have such a great friend in Fr. Leo and we hope that you will join us for this conversation, but also on our trip next year!

Fr. Leo’s organization – https://platinggrace.com/

Women Wonderfully Made FREE Webinar

Dads Vs. Wild FREE Webinar

Join us a the Cruise and Pilgrimage to Fatima – https://www.messyfamilyproject.org/fatima-cruise/

Check out our blog post on this topic: Do Family Dinners Matter?

Blessed is the house where an older person lives! Blessed is the family that honours the elderly! – Pope Francis, from his message for the Second World Day for Grandparents and the Elderly

None of us live in a vacuum.  We didn’t just appear upon the earth in isolation!  We are all part of a family – not just our nuclear family, but a wider group made up of aunts, uncles, grandparents, and great grandparents, stretching back generations.  How often do we consider the role of our grandparents in our lives?  Or the role that we will play in the lives of our grandchildren someday?  In this podcast, we discuss the importance of these relationships, some guidelines for both generations to learn how to relate to each other, and how parents can embrace their role as grandparents.  We have found that you never stop learning and growing in your relationship with your spouse or your children.  This podcast will benefit everyone who has grandparents, who is a grandparent, and those who are navigating relationships between their children and their parents.  This podcast is in response to the call of Pope Francis to celebrate the role of grandparents on the Sunday closest to the feast of St. Anne and Joachim, grandparents of Jesus, this year on July 24.