Monday, March 30, 2009

Earth Hour


So....did you all participate is in Earth Hour this year? You know... where you were supposed to turn off all the lights in your house for one hour to show global solidarity in the fight against climate change?

Me neither. I think that was the night I was throwing all my Styrofoam cups and plates into a bonfire in my back yard while listening to Rush Limbaugh.

I'm just kidding, but I think I was doing something that involved an SUV. I know. I'm evil.

Anyway, this Earth Hour thing got me thinking. What if, instead of turning off our lights for an hour to save the planet, we dedicated an hour a week to help save the family. We'll call it Family Hour.

Oddly enough, I grew up with Family Hour. I did! Every Sunday we gathered as a family and had a gospel lesson. Either my parents would give the lesson or assign one of us kids to do it. I always liked listening to Bible stories using the flannel board. Family hour also included a family scheduling time with the calendar so we all knew what we had going for the up coming week.

Now on Monday we had Family Night. That was more about doing an activity together, like playing sports, playing board games, going to the mall or to the park, going to a baseball game or walking to the ice cream shop. Every Monday we'd ask with excitement, "So what are we doing for family night tonight?" Sometimes we would even combine with another family in the neighborhood and do an activity together.

What if the whole world did this? What if we all dedicated one hour a week to spend together as a family or as neighbors. What would the effect be? How could relationships and lives be changed?

I notice how starved some children are for attention. They want to spend time with parents. They want structure and predictability.

We had our 7 year old daughter give us a family hour lesson on Sunday about baptism. She did such a great job and WE LET HER KNOW IT! She couldn't wipe that smile off her face if she tried. Her confidence grew and she felt special. That is what it is all about.

You know what impressed me about my parents? They kept this up, even during the ugly teenage years. They probably didn't think we were listening or that we were falling asleep, but my love for the gospel and for my Savior was formed during family hour. Week by week, hour by hour, relationships were strengthened. I have never doubted my parent's love.

Some weeks will be better than others, but your efforts and diligence will reap rewards.

Do you have one hour a week to save YOUR WORLD?

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2 comments:

  1. Great post! I think Family Hour is something we need to promote! We should blog about it. Get a button and put it on all of our blogs. Maybe we can make a difference. I really think if people would do it, our society would be so much better. Is that naive?

    It is a struggle to have FHE every week, but we try. I think it makes a big difference.

    As as for Earth Hour, my kids tried to adhere to it by turning off all the lights in the house, while we parents kept turning them on . LOL!

    XOXO
    Jen

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