Elijah Moment: Stories from our Past

I had to record something that we've added to our weekly family home evenings that has been a blessing to our family.  Nate and I were watching a training for his work which talked about how important it is to tie the hearts of the children to their fathers.  There are many promises in the scriptures that accompany this commandment and I've been feeling for months that I need to find a way to help my children learn about their fathers.

The problem has always been that I'm barely getting the basics done.  If I tried to add something grand to my schedule I would feel like I failed if I messed up.  I needed something that I could really do, and keep up long term.  Enter, the Elijah Moment.

Nate and I switch off doing an Elijah Moment during our Monday night FHE.  Whoever isn't teaching the lesson is in charge of this segment.  It is simply to tell a story of our ancestors to our children.  It can be something as small and recent as talking about how Nate and I met, or when we decided to have each of the children, or something from grandparent's lives, or farther back.  Basically, it's a really low key way to ensure that the legacy of faith is testified of in our home.

If I have time to research a great story, I do that.  If I don't, I tell a memory that I have off the top of my head.  (As the children get older they will have opportunities to be in charge of the moment as well.)  What we began last week is something that I think I want to have stick.  I told the story of how Nathan and I met.  I testified that our family began because we were serving other people.  (Nate and I met when we were both volunteering for an organization on campus.)  And I then challenged us to think of a service project we could do that week in order to carry on the legacy.

We ended up planning on taking all of the neighbor's garbages to the curb for them on garbage day.  So the night before, we would knock on their doors and tell them that our family was learning about service and could we please take their garbage out for them.

I feel good knowing that while right now, I might not be able to do huge family history things,  I can begin to knit the hearts of my children to their fathers.

So join us!  Have an Elijah Moment.  Tell stories from your past.