This month we begin our eighth year of publishing the AAF Newsletter. Almost all our newsletters are posted on our web site. We have addressed a wide variety of needs that affect the family. For many years, we issued the newsletter weekly. Several months ago, we made it a bi-weekly publication. After careful consideration, we've decided to publish it monthly.

We have many reasons for making the change. First of all, we don't want to distribute our thoughts on families just because we're facing a deadline. We want to have something worthwhile to say. That gets harder to do after multiple years of publishing. We have a rather sizeable database in our archives on a variety of subjects. Our thoughts are readily available to our readers, as our perspectives still out there on the internet for anyone who is interested.

Secondly, we had to think about Norman's duties with the church. AAF is really peripheral to other responsibilities. We have just completed five years of ministry with the Southern Hills church. When we started out, family ministry was our primary ministry area. We concentrated our reading, studying and teaching in that area over most of the last five years. Things we prepared for classes, seminars, etc. made their way into the newsletter. In the ensuing years, Norman's responsibilities with the church have changed. Two years ago, he was asked to serve as one of the church's elders. Recently, a decision was made to reduce the full time ministry staff from three persons to two. The two remaining staff members have absorbed a workload that was once shared by three persons. That further compromises the time needed to do in-depth family study research. Both of these changes makes the nature of our ministry much more general than it was before.

The third reason is selfish. We are sixty-seven years of age. While we are in reasonably good health, we do deal with some health challenges and our energy level isn't quite what it used to be. It has been particularly difficult for Ann. She was in the hospital during December. She does all the tech work, which is a considerable undertaking, and she needs a break. I guess you could say we need to slow down a bit (not very much but a little).

We will continue to issue the newsletter. Mikal will continue to provide her challenging articles. By issuing the newsletter monthly, we hope to stay abreast of any new developments in the area of family enrichment and pass them on to you.

Norman and Ann

The other day we stopped by the doctor's office to get our flu shots. It was a bit of an inconvenience and we've never actually enjoyed having our skin penetrated by needles. But it's a tradeoff. We prefer an interruption in our schedule and what the nurse calls a "little stick" over a couple of weeks in bed with the flu.

Keeping your family healthy can also be an inconvenience. We're not talking about making sure you get your flu shots and seeing that everyone wears appropriate layered clothing on cold days. We're talking about preventive medicine to preserve the health of the family relationship. Here's a short list of things that need attention if you want to keep the family healthy.

• Give honest praise. Praise each other frequently. Don't worry about whether family members will get the big head if they receive too much praise. That's a low level risk. You run a much greater risk of breaking down family morale when you withhold praise. It's always good to remember the observation of Proverbs 25:11. "A word aptly spoken is like apples of gold in settings of silver."

• Make yourselves mutually accountable to one another. Sometimes people think the two of us are embroiled in an argument when we are actually fulfilling a mutual agreement to make ourselves accountable to each other. We all have blind spots. We all run the risk of making mistakes we'll regret later. Correction by someone you love and trust deepens your love for one another even though you may initially resist it.

• Keep humor alive. Humor can damage a relationship if we indulge in clever put-downs. They aren't clever to the person who receives the brunt of the barb. On the other hand if we can laugh at our own shortcomings or if we can look at the humorous side of our mutual problems, we can actually gain an edge on dealing with our troubles. Again, we call on Proverbs. A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones (17:22).

by Jim Brasher

GOD ANSWERS PRAYER! How often have we said this? We can cite examples for both Old and New Testaments showing clearly that God hears when his people pray. Since this is true, one would think Christians would be distinguished for their prayer lives . . . that they would be found praying individually, in small groups in homes, congregationally, in the family. Praying for the lost, the weak and the sick. Let us learn to pray specifically! Many of our prayers are so general that they are meaningless. You can read more of Jim's thoughts on prayer