5 Ways to Love Your Family Well

Last year there were upwards of 400,000,000 online searches in the United States for “love”. That’s more than the U.S. population! It’s a reminder that so many people turn to the internet to answer their deepest questions. And it’s a sign of the enormous need that so many people are craving love – to love and be loved. Unfortunately, it’s also a great example that many, many people are looking for love in all the wrong places.

The answer to this is simple. We were all created in the image of God; therefore, we were created to love and be loved. In one of His greatest commandments, Jesus basically says “Love God and love others with everything we’ve got.” (Matthew 22:36-39)

The Roadshool Moms team arrived at a fulltime RV lifestyle on different paths; however, both Mary Beth (creator of Road Trip Teacher) and Kimberly (found of Fulltime Families) were led to life on the road by the goal to make their families a priority and to live their lives more intentionally. This week on the Roadschool Moms’ episode, the Roadschool Moms celebrate Valentine’s Day by their dish on How to Love Your Family Well in 5 Easy Steps:

Feed your family well. Now, this is figuratively as well as physically in our house. First, it’s important to feed your family well in the form of input into their minds and souls. After all, what comes in, must go out. Positive, loving thoughts and information that is fed into our family members on a daily basis will come out the same, in one form or another. In a physical sense, just small doses of extra effort here and there in the healthy eating habits of your family will also realize positive results. Today’s Valentine’s Day: If you were already making sandwiches for lunch, cutting them in a heart shape will take you from zero to hero in about 5 seconds flat!

Give your family the space it needs to grow. While it is so easy to try to control the outcome of every situation with a well-intentioned Mama’s heart, there really is something to be said for giving your kids and even your spouse, the room to grow and spread their wings based on their own thoughts and dreams. Providing them the love and support they need is just like Mother Nature providing the water and fertilizer needed to harvest good crops. Love is essential and space is required to grow and to flourish.

Make your family a priority individually as well as a family unit. This means that while we spend much of our time as a family, during our roadschool and in our daily routines. But there is also a time to intentionally spend one on one time with each member of your family. Just as Mom and Dad needs one on one time to see each other in a different light, so does each and every other member of the family. Dad needs time with sons and daughters. Mom time with each kiddos is equally important. Honestly, we have even started extended this family date time, if you will, amongst the siblings in our household. Nurturing a big brother’s relationship with a little sister reaps rewards as sweet as a Mother/Son breakfast date.

There is no substitute for time and attention. We’ve talked about one on one time and that is important. But loving your family well means making your time a priority by intentionally dividing your time for what’s real and what’s important. If you find yourself scrolling Facebook instead of reading to your littles, take the social media app off your phone. There are many facets to a Roadschool Mom’s day. Eliminate the parts of the day that really aren’t important to your family. Your days will be simpler. Your load will be lighter. And your family will be loved.

At the end of the day, tuck your family in with the security of your unconditional love. No matter what has happened during the day, it is important for each and every family member to go to sleep with the confidence and well-being that they are safe and they are loved. Tucking your family in at night will have different meaning in your household based on your family ages, routines, and traditions. But, ending each day with the knowledge that you are loved, wholly and completely, is a true gift to your family.

To listen to the Roadschool Moms’s 5 Easy Steps to Love Your Family Well, tune in to the February 14th episode of Roadschool Moms over at iTunes!

Roadschool Moms is a live, one-hour weekly broadcast dedicated to the needs and challenges facing today’s roadschool moms. Kimberly Travaglino, of Fulltime Families, and Mary Beth Goff, the Road Trip Teacher, team up every week to offer listeners a fresh take on homeschooling while traveling full time, working in current events and featuring a mix of expert guests.