Seems today you can find an app for anything. People even feel the need to have an app before they do anything.

• Don’t want to call certain people in a drunken stupor…”there’s an app for that.” (I think it might be better just to avoid the drunken state, but….)
• Want to track your bowel movements (related diet, stress, bowel texture) and share “all that crap” with friends…”there’s an app for that.” Perhaps hard to believe, but it’s true.
• On a slightly different note, want to keep track of every place in the world you have “taken a poop” (or would that be “left a poop,” anyway)…. Yes, “there’s an app for that.”
• Tired of playing games on your device while your cat sits idly by lounging on the floor…”there’s an app for that.” Your cat can “catch” a digital mouse or fish depending on the app you choose. Now you can play your games without the guilt of your lonely cat staring at you with those big eyes. Hmmmmmm.
• Find your teen’s behavior irritating? Show them whose boss (or whose best at irritating teen behavior) by irritating them with high frequency sounds…Yes, “there’s an app for that.”
• Ever had to go to the bathroom in the middle of a movie but you don’t want to miss anything good? Well, you guessed it, “there’s an app for that.” This app will tell you the best times to run to the bathroom during a movie and fills you in on what you’ve missed during your trip.

See what I mean? You name it, “there’s an app for that.” Sesame Street even has a song to help teach its viewers “there’s an app for that.”  By the way, in case anyone out there can help create an app, I have a couple ideas for family apps to help families practice honor, grace, and celebration.  I want in on the act, but I don’t know how to create an app and, I guess there’s no app for that.

In the long run, though, you don’t need an app to build a strong family. In fact, focusing on your phone and internet device to play games and monitor bowel movements can really get in the way of family life.  So, I wanted to share just a few “app-free” ways to build a healthy family. The nice thing about each of these tools is you “don’t need no app for that!”

• Sit down as a family and play a board game or a card game. While you play, talk. Enjoy one another’s company. Laugh.
• Go for a walk. Get outside and walk along a creek or through a patch of woods or across the field. Walking in nature has a healing effect and it provides an opportunity to share. Take a walk to the store just to buy a drink. Talk and share as you walk.
• Prepare a meal together. Then sit down and eat together. (Check out the benefits of this activity.)
• Get your favorite book and read it out loud to one another.
• Go fly a kite. You’d be surprised at the benefits of flying a kite.
• Go for a bike ride.
• Sit on the porch and watch the birds together (I’m doing that as I write this blog).
• Have a campfire. Make some s’mores. Enjoy one another’s company and conversation. (A great family fun night.)
• Go to the zoo…or the museum. Then talk about your favorite parts over some ice cream.
• For more ideas, read this.

You get the idea. These activities are simple and there are many more. Even though they are simple, they build family togetherness. They increase family intimacy. And, you “don’t need no app for that!”