I’ve never liked the game “Would You Rather.” It’s a childhood game that may bring back good memories for many of you, but for me it brings up feelings of fear. For some reason, this type of game always makes me afraid of getting embarrassed. What if I didn’t know what one of the things is? What if both options were terrible and I couldn’t fathom doing either one, what would I do then? So, when hanging out with friends I usually tried to avoid this type of game.
Fast forward 25 years and I am at a children’s ministry leaders meeting and the emcee starts the lunch with an unexpected “Would You Rather” game. WHAT?? Surely there is an age limit to this game, right?! I was pretty much trapped with no place to go. But much to my relief, this version had an unconventional twist to it. It was “Would You Rather…Bible Edition.”
He started the game with two options. “Would you rather be present at Pentecost or present when Jesus appeared to the disciples after His resurrection?” We had a moment to think about it and then we were to turn to our neighbor and tell them which one we would choose and why. It was interesting to see what people chose and their reasons for choosing. Some reasons were simple, and a few people went very, very deep. I decided to just go with my initial thought instead of over-analyzing it. A first for me. Haha! After all, both would have been amazing to experience!
Bring it Home
This got me thinking and it started to change my view on this popular childhood game. That night as we were sitting around the dinner table I decided to ask my kids the same questions that were asked at the luncheon. To my surprise it was a huge hit. The kids were begging for more. Nathan and I quickly thought on our feet and came up with several more options. I loved hearing why the kids would choose one event or situation over another. We talked about how we would feel, how that would have affected us and how it would have changed our perspective on life.
Awhile ago Nathan and I read the book Sticky Faith by Kara Powell, and it has challenged us to think deeply about our parenting. Effective parenting always starts with relationship and conversation. Have you heard that from us before?? Relationship is key to effective parenting. If you don’t have a relationship with your child you can not have productive conversations. Without productive conversation your child is left to wonder about life on their own.
They need you to help them be successful in this life. They need to be able to trust you, and they want your advice. But to get to the point where they will ask and listen you have to spend years building the relationship. Which comes first, relationship or conversation? We say both. You really can’t have one without the other. However, one might be stronger in a given season than another. Build on that and focus on improving the other.
Simple
A solid foundation is built one brick at a time. A solid relationship is built one conversation at a time. You can not jump right into deep conversations without testing the waters with the simple and lighter topics. It is hard to convince your child that the Bible has the answers to their problems if you never talk about the Bible. This is where the Would you Rather game will come in hand to get the conversation started. This can be your entry point into having conversations around the Bible with your children. Below is the list of the questions we asked our children. Feel free to add your own! Remember there is no right or wrong answer to any of these. And it is definitely okay for different family members to have different answers – encourage and celebrate it. If you or your children are unfamiliar with any of these Bible stories, use this as an opportunity to look it up together and explore the stories together. Learning together is one of the best ways to build trust and credibility.
This week, pick a time to connect with your child. What are some times and places where you can have some fun conversations with your kids? Pray that these will be the first steps towards even deeper conversations that strengthen your relationship.
Click here to download our Would You Rather: Bible Edition!
wonderful blog! thanks!
Glad you were blessed!!