Accountability....

....noun. The state of being accountable; liability to be called on to render an account; the obligation to bear the consequences for failure to perform as expected.

Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves: for they watch for your souls, as they that must give account, that they may do it with joy and not with grief, for that is unprofitible for you. Hebrews 13:17

I have really enjoyed all the 'parenting blogs' I have come across recently. I have found some excellent ideas and tips to help in this tremendous responsibility God has given us as parents. I'm also reading James Dobson's book, "Bringing up Girls." I just started it, but I can tell already that it's going to be a great!

It's Sunday afternoon, all is quiet in the house, but for the hum of a great blessing...my dishwasher! The girls are reading or playing quietly, and the baby is napping with daddy.

I thought I would take this time to unwind a bit and share with you something we started doing a couple of years ago. It has been a great success for us.

We call it Family Accountability.

It's really not as scary as it might sound. We simply take a few minutes (okay...sometimes hours) on Saturday evening to practice being accountable. Think about it...it's something we ALL have to do. Even daddies. My children know that their daddy has a management job. In their minds, he is "THE BIG BOSS" both at home and at work. It was funny to listen to them when he explained that even bosses have bosses and those bossess have bigger bosses and so on and so forth. It was about a week of Kammy asking every day when daddy came home, "Was your boss kind to you today?"

"It's not only what we do, but also what we do NOT do, that we are accountable for."

We move around the room, (yes, mom & dad included...sigh...) and discuss our week. I want them to see from the struggles and trials I/we go through, that Jesus is there for them, just the way he is for us. I want them to remember these times when THEY are the parents and hopefully be able to learn from them. We confess the areas we 'messed up' in and discuss a game plan for doing better. We talk about our fears and even ask forgiveness of one another when necessary. We talk about both the good and the bad. If God was especially near or gave us a special verse from his word, we might share that. If we had a rather 'dry' week, we are obligated to share that as well. This way, our family...those who love us best...know how to pray for us and and encourage us. Of course, there are things have to be dealt with throughout the week and we want our children to feel like they can come to us with concerns at any time, but this just makes it a little more focused. Then we pray together about these things, and others.

At first accountability was a little hard, and the WHOLE family dreaded it a bit I think, but now it is something to look forward to. Well....usually, anyway. For those who have 'messed up', the thought can be a little intimidating, but at the same time, it feels good to share openly with one another. Sometimes we find ourselves trying to help each other understand a Bible verse, or explain a docrinal question. Sometimes, it is something very simple. Like this week, helping Kammy pray that she will develop an appetite for better food. She is our one and only junk-food-junkie and we are all trying to help her take better care of her body. You should have heard her pray last night! :) I have noticed that since we have accountability, we have less fighting and fewer unkind words among the children. The thought of having to be accountable for our actions, sometimes stops the bad actions all together and I venture to say, has started a few good actions as well. :)

One other part of this whole accountability project for us has been preparing ourselves to worship. No one wants to go to church Sunday morning discouraged or carrying guilt. I suppose it's important for everyone, but I think it might be especially important for a parsonage family. We are supposed to be ministering to people not taking our burdens to them.

It also gets our kids in the habit of being accountable. It's a part of life and certainly a part of death as well. As parents, we will be required to give account not only of ourselves, but of how we did with the treasures God gave us to raise for His Kingdom.

"Accountability breeds responsibility."

So, there you have it...

"Family Accountability"

Just one of the little things our family does in attempt to 'Bring up Pink' and keep the circle unbroken.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God. Romans 14:12