followHIM - How can I create more unity in my home? • followHIM Favorites • Aug 21 -27

Episode Date: August 17, 2023

Hank Smith and John Bytheway answer a question from this week's Come, Follow Me study.Show Notes (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): https://followhim.coFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/followhimpodcastInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/followhimpodcastYouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/FollowHimOfficialChannelThanks to the followHIM team:Shannon Sorensen: Executive Producer, SponsorDavid & Verla Sorensen: SponsorsDr. Hank Smith: Co-hostJohn Bytheway: Co-hostDavid Perry: ProducerKyle Nelson: Marketing, SponsorLisa Spice: Client Relations, Editor, Show NotesJamie Neilson: Social Media, Graphic DesignAnnabelle Sorensen: Creative Project ManagerWill Stoughton: Video EditorKrystal Roberts: Translation Team, English & French Transcripts, WebsiteAriel Cuadra: Spanish Transcripts"Let Zion in Her Beauty Rise" by Marshall McDonaldhttps://www.marshallmcdonaldmusic.com/products/let-zion-in-her-beauty-rise-piano

Hello, my friends. Welcome to another Follow Him Favorites. My name is Hank Smith. I'm here with the awesome John, by the way. Welcome, John. Hi, Hank. We are going to answer a single question from this week's lesson, John, just like we normally do. Here's of the lesson is be perfectly joined together. Yet sometimes, I don't know if your house is like mine, we're not so perfectly joined together. So how can I create more unity at home? What would you say to that? You know, I tried to speak to this topic years ago. And at first I thought of a recipe, your flour, your sugar, your cake mix. But if you're a handful of mud, it ruins the whole cake, right? And then I remember thinking maybe a better one is, you know how a tandem bicycle has two people?

And maybe when you add kids, you get more seats. And the point is though, whatever you do, it affects everybody. If you are putting on the brakes while others are trying to pedal, it affects everybody. Sometimes somebody's sick and we all pedal for them. And it can be so wonderful that somebody can take over when we do that. But we can either coast, we can pedal, or we can put on the brakes. But it affects everybody. So we can ask, what kind of family member am I? How am I affecting my family?

Am I helping us get to our destination with no empty chairs? That's awesome. You've heard me quote the Bible dictionary before. Under miracles, it says they are the natural result of the Messiah's presence. Love it. And I love it. And then I ask, what's the natural result of my presence? When I get home, what naturally happens?

Oh no, dad's home. Do they scatter? Are they excited? I've used this analogy before with youth in their families. The Sea of Galilee and the Dead Sea are made of the same water. The Sea of Galilee though is beautiful and lush with life and the Dead Sea is dead. Why? One writer said it's because the Sea of Galilee gets, but also gives. It gets and gives. It gets and gives. While the Dead Sea only takes. It takes and it keeps. And what kind of family member then are you? Are you a Sea of Galilee? You obviously have to take. Everyone has to take. But do you give as well? Do you give to your siblings? Do you give to your parents? Do you give your time and effort and energy and enthusiasm to them? Not just take their enthusiasm and energy, or are we just a taker? That little thought has

helped me be, try to give more in my family to create that life. And if you don't, if you don't give, you just get too salty. Yeah. You get too salty, but everyone can still float in you, but that's about it. Yeah. John, I remember at BYU where I work, there was some pass across the grass that students, you know, would cut through, not take the sidewalk. They just cut through the cut onto the grass and the grass after thousands of students would die during on that spot. So BYU started putting up some signs. They said, I'm trying hard to grow. So please don't walk on me. And for some reason it appealed to the students, you know, like, Oh, you know, like, Oh, I don't want to hurt you little grass. But when they were done with that, I was like, can I have one of those?

And I brought it home. We used it for family home evening because everyone in our family is trying hard to grow. So please don't walk on them. I always thought that was a little fun little message. Do that in our families. Yeah. We hope you'll join us on our full podcast. It's called Follow Him.

You can get it wherever you get your podcasts. We're with Dr. Teresa Bell this week, and we think you'll really enjoy what she has to say about these chapters and then come back next week for another follow him favorites