Family Night Success Story

Tonight was one of the those family nights that was planned at the last minute but ended up being one of the best. I had spent the day up at the hospital getting a check up on my oldest son so I was pretty tired when I got home at 6 pm, fixed dinner, and cleaned up. No one had planned their part (including me) and I was very tempted to just let it go. But thankfully we decided to go ahead.

A few years ago I joined a family home evening group where we made lessons and traded with each other. Basically each person makes one lesson and copies it for the number of people in the group. We did this several times and after about a year or so I had around 60-70 lessons. So right now they are all in a box and are a great resource, especially for last minute lessons.

So anyway, my daughter grabbed a lesson on General Conference - good timing, and then we played a fun game ("Verse Search" and I'll post it after this). And it was great! Why? I don't know. We do this every week and it's not always such a positive experience, but for some reason it was tonight. This time everyone participated (which is rare) and everyone was in a good mood (another rarity). But most of all, the spirit was there, everyone felt it, and we all left with smiles on our faces!

After it was over I said a silent prayer of thanks that we decided to have family night and I reminded myself that this is why I do it week after week. It brings a spirit of love and joy into our home and for that I am so grateful.

So next time you're thinking you're just too tired and want to let it slide, just "do it"! Even if it's short and you think the lesson and game are lame, just do it. It's not so much what you do as much as it is that you spend good, quality time together as a family learning about the gospel and having fun! It's a small amount of effort that has long lasting rewards.