Creating Moments That Matter: How to Improve Your Family Relationships

A Family Holding Hands Together

All of us have a family. We are all born into one, some of us have created one, or we have done both. Family is a very important part of life. God designed families to grow together and share love. Knowing how to develop family relationships will help you throughout your journey and will improve every area of your life. I say this because it is very hard to go to work or school and be a high performer when things at home are on the rocks. It’s hard to enjoy vacations and recreation time when there is no peace in the house. When the home is in order, it will positively affect all areas of your life. In this article, I am going to share with you four ways to improve your home life.

Fun Activities

We have to learn how to get enjoyment out of life. We are so busy these days and we always have things going on. Making time to do recreational activities with your family can break the rush of day-to-day life. We have to have balance. It is true that work and school take up a large part of our lives, but it should never be our life. If you don’t know how to have fun, or even worse, you don’t make time to have fun, you are making a huge mistake. Smiles should be your goal. You should look for ways to make your spouse, your kids, your parents, your siblings and all other family members smile. Creating these fun moments could be times that are remembered forever.

The One-on-One Date

If you have a large family and all of your fun times are as a group, you are missing out on a really special opportunity. The one-on-one date is a huge moment of blessing. I remember my mother came to visit me once for a three day weekend. We spent the entire time together. I don’t own a coffee machine so every morning I would go get her coffee from a nearby gas station and have it ready for her when she woke up. We cooked breakfast together, went exercising at a nearby track, went to some really nice restaurants and just spent time visiting. When it was time for her to leave, I was very sad because I didn’t want her to go but she had to work the next day. As she was packing, her flight was cancelled, and she got to stay another day. It was a really great memory for both of us and I will remember it forever.

I am a huge advocate for spending one-on-one time with another family member. It makes it that much more special. When we go as a group, we have to split our attention in multiple different ways and tend to everyone. However, during one-on-one time, all your energy can be given to one person and it makes that time much more powerful. There are a lot of opportunities out there to get some one-on-one time. For example, go to a Father/Daughter dance, hire a baby sitter so you and your spouse spend a night out, or even take a drive with a sibling to go get some ice cream. The only limitation that you have is your own imagination.

Random Acts

Another great memory of mine was with my father. He and I were driving home from Tucson, AZ one afternoon. I grew up in a town that was about an hour from the city. The trip to Tucson is basically a straight shot so when he turned down a different road I as curious as to why. We pulled up to this wooded fence area and I saw horse stables. Some folks met up to talk with us and my dad talked with them a bit. This place did horseback rides for the public and my Dad and I joined the next riding group. It was the first time I ever rode a horse alone and it was a lot of fun. The ride was about an hour long and my Dad and I rode side by side on a dirt trail. I felt like a cowboy from the old days. As a kid, it meant the world to me to be like a cowboy. This momentous time was completely unplanned and I didn’t expect it at all. It was completely random and it was one of the highlights from my childhood. My father was well known for doing things like that and it made life fun and exciting. The random act is a great way to produce moments that you will treasure and it will definitely bring joy to your family life. 

Identify Love Languages

Gary Chapman is the author of the book The Five Love Languages and once I finished it, it changed my view towards relationships completely. I’ve mentioned the love languages in a previous article and I believe that knowing these will give you huge insights on how to show love to another person. I get a lot of enjoyment when I try to figure out someone’s love language, but instead of guessing or analyzing, you can just ask someone. Either way, once you figure it out, you will have the means to stimulate that person’s emotions to an incredible degree.

Take some time to determine every one of your family member’s love language and then use that knowledge to benefit everyone. For example, my sister's love language is gifts. When she wants to show love to someone, she will give or buy them something. On the flip side, she feels most loved when she is given a gift. Knowing this, if I really wanted to bring my sister joy, I could give her a gift card and take her on an all-day shopping spree. This alone would have her elated for a very long time and it would create a moment that she will treasure forever. Determine another person’s love language and then do things that will show love in that way and you will never go wrong.