Welcome to Day 8 of 31 Days of Connection (we’re only a quarter of the way through)! Remember, stop by Day 1 to catch the links to all 31 days.

Connecting With Family

I know, you’re thinking, “Hello, Lisa – I’m around my family all day. Don’t you think I’m already connected enough?” Maybe. But maybe you could connect more, better, deeper. Of course you’re connected – you’re related and you love each other and there’s a connection between all of you that won’t ever go away. Have you been intentional about your connection with family members lately? I know that we tend to get comfortable and familiar and get to that point where we don’t really work at it anymore. But it takes constant effort if you want that deeper level of connection. And by developing that deeper connection at home, we’ll be better prepared to connect with those outside our family circle.

Connect With Your Spouse

Connecting with our spouse should include connection through intimacy and touch, but we should also be making time to “date” each other. It’s important to have one-on-one time away from the distractions of children so you can talk about your dreams and goals for your family or work through issues together. It doesn’t have to be an expensive night out with a babysitter at home, though I recommend saving up and doing that at least once in a while. It can be time together at home after putting the kids to bed early – that might mean you have to stay up really late, but it’s worth it for some time alone together.

Connect With Your Children

Connecting with children happens all day long, but this is about taking extra, intentional time to connect with them one-on-one. Make it a priority to fit in or schedule time with each child without the other children. Maybe that’s a parent/child “date” or maybe it’s just time together in the child’s room. It’s certainly easier to achieve this with younger children as they usually love to cuddle and read stories together. It gets tougher as they get older and requires you to figure out what ways they prefer to connect. Is it playing a video game together and talking about what’s happening at school? Is it shopping together and laughing about your day? When you have teens, it’s harder still.

Connecting intentionally with a teen may mean perseverance on our end. Just because a teen seems outwardly not to care about connecting, don’t believe it. Teens want love and connection but won’t always give you the satisfaction of showing that they care. But if we give up, they will assume that we don’t care enough to keep trying. Don’t give up! Make a coffee date and talk about their day or hang out at the mall to people watch and share some of your wisdom at the same time. Keep things low key and no-pressure. Developing a deeper connection with your teen may take more effort now but it they will appreciate it as they get older.

Connect With Other Family Members

Connecting with other family members outside of your immediate family is important, too. Whether it’s grandparents, cousins, aunts, uncles, or in-laws, make time during each year to connect or reconnect with them. This probably won’t be able to happen as often but make that effort to rearrange your schedule once in a awhile to visit your other family members or attend a family function. Not only are we developing a better connection, we are also setting the example for your children on how to connect with family.

Make taking time to be intentional about connecting with family members a priority and you’ll see the benefits not only with your relationships with family, but with your own ability to connect with others. This will mean planning ahead. Being intentional means working to make it happen rather than waiting for the right moment to spontaneously occur.

Day 8 Daily Connection Challenge:
Schedule some intentional one-on-one time to connect with family members. Start today if possible. Plan ahead and schedule time with each one as well as commit to a family occasion or event coming up in the next month or so.

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