Family and the Holidays

Apologist and author Steve Ray shares ideas for sharing the holidays with charity and peace even with difficult family members.

Questions Covered:

• 16:48 - My Pentecostal relatives are coming over and I fear that they will want to do a prayer before we eat. As I am the host, I want to say the prayer and I would like advice on what to say during the prayer to touch those family members.
• 31:15 - My brother has been in and out of drug programs and recently has left one without approval. He will be at Thanksgiving and my wife and I have opted out of attending. Since we are not attending Thanksgiving at my mother’s home is this considered dishonoring my mother?
• 41:55 - My family is all fallen away Catholics. They will not allow for me to attend any family get-togethers, they shun me. How do I cope with their decision on a spiritual level?
• 46:05 - My son became a non-denominational Christian. If you cannot prove something is in the Bible he will dismiss you. He believes myself and my daughter are not good Christians. How can I address my son when I see him during the holidays when he becomes confrontational?
• 49:23 - I have a gay nephew and his mother, my sister, is pushing the acceptance of her son as well as his partner on the family. My sister wants the “boyfriend” to be allowed to the family get-togethers and the family does not want the negative influence to be introduced to the younger generations. How do we address this?

Resources Mentioned:

• Why I Don’t Call Myself Gay: How I Reclaimed My Sexual Reality and Found Peace by Daniel Mattson