Building a successful family is like building a home. Both need a plan. A successful family based on unity and love takes careful planning, but it's worth every moment.

The best way to be organized as a family is to hold weekly family meetings. By doing this, families enjoy a special closeness and stability. Choosing to spend time with your family sends a message more powerful than words. Memories made together during this time will bond and sustain your family through the years.

The family meeting should be an important part of every family's weekly schedule. The family meeting can have three parts. These are suggestions only; your weekly meeting can be anything your family wants it to be.

1. Family Council - The Family Council is a time to do three things: schedule activities, talk about family matters, and plan the next family meeting.

• Schedule activities. Coordinating schedules and planning family activities need to be done weekly. When everyone is present (with calendars or notepaper), discuss each day of the week. Try to plan a daily schedule that allows your family to eat at least one meal together each day-even if meal time is a little later or earlier than is most convenient for every per-son. Sometimes individual schedules need to be adjusted for the good of the family.

• Talk about upcoming events. Decide when family members can support one another by attending their activities. Then plan one family activity. Remember to talk about all the details of the activity. This will include the date, time, meeting place, money and food needed, special clothes to be worn, etc. When conflicts arise, this family activity has highest priority.

• Talk about family matters. Discuss household chores, family problems, and anything a family member wants to talk about. A family discussion is the core of the family council. This is a valuable opportunity each week to gather around and share feelings about the family. Anything that needs to be discussed can be shared at this time. It is very important that 0 family members speak only positively, and allow the person talking to share his or her feelings in an atmosphere of empathy and caring. This is a time to voice concerns and suggestions for the good of the family.
  
• Plan next week's family meeting. To make sure that your next family meeting will be a success and each family member will be involved, talk about who will give the lesson, who will help with the activity, and who will prepare the treats.

• The weekly family meeting is an excellent time to teach a lesson. This can be a discussion on correct behavior, good manners, or one of the important moral values which help shape children's characters. The opportunity to meet together regularly as a family to learn "life lessons" is price-less. Parents, this is your stewardship. Unless you teach your children, how will they learn the principles and values you want them to know?
  
• Decide as parents in advance what should be taught each week. A sample lesson on gratitude is included at the end of this section.

• The activity is an important part of the family meeting. Families need to have fun together! The activity should be something that everyone enjoys. It could be as simple as a fami4y walk in the neighborhood, or playing a board game. The activity could be watching a movie as a family, going to a sporting event, or doing a service for a friend or neighbor. The most important thing is that the family is all together, enjoying themselves.

As a family, read Suggestions for The Family Meeting. Then hold a family meeting using as many of the suggestions as possible. Don't be discouraged if your meetings aren't perfect--no family's meetings are. Do your best and congratulate yourselves on participating in an activity that will bring your family closer together.