wfn.org | Christians and marriage organizations launch “7-Minute Blessings Card”

["Taiwan Church News" <enews@pctpress.org>]

>      Taiwan Church News

>3037 Edition

>May 10~16, 2010

Christians and marriage organizations launch “7-Minute  Blessings Card”

>Reported by Lin Yi-ying

>Written by Lydia Ma

How long has it been since you had a heart-to-heart talk with your  loved ones? 
In

response to deteriorating family relationships in contemporary  society and the

growing distance between family members, Taiwan Association for  Happy

Marriages began a campaign recently by urging Taiwanese people to  sign a “7-

>Minute Blessings Card”.

The association also held a forum on May 4th based on the theme  “Come Back

Home, Love Your Home”. During the forum, organizers showed  the card and

>explained its purpose and functions.

The card’s purpose is to promote more interaction and  dialogue between family

members, which strengthens marriages and families. On one side of  the card is 
an

inscription that reads, “I want to give you a 7-minute  deposit.” On the other 
side of

the card is another inscription that reads, “I need a  7-minute withdrawal from 
you.”

The association urged people to use this card as a way of  increasing the amount

of time they spend with their families, nurture relationships, and  talk with 
one

>another.

This is how the card can be used: Those who want more time with a  family

member may flash the “withdrawal” side of the card to  the person they want to

spend time with, and those who wish to reach out to a family  member may flash 
the

>“deposit” side of the card.

“The 7-Minute Blessings Card doesn’t say you only need  to interact with family

members for 7 minutes,” said the association’s director,  Chang Kun-chi. “Seven

actually represents wholeness in the Bible. We hope this card can  help families

become wholesome and marriages become happier by reminding people  to set

>aside time.”

According to one Bunun pastor, Aborigine people are taught from a  young age to

treat one another with humility and kindness, and emphasize  emotional health.

One of the ways family members cultivate close relationships with  one another 
is

>through family meals.

Furthermore, whenever there are conflicts between people of the  same age,

elders in the family or in the clan are called to help resolve  conflicts and 
mediations

must always end with a “reconciliation toast”. That is  one of the ways 
Aborigines

>maintain tight-knit communities.

Methodist Bishop Enoch C.H. Kuey, said relationships between  parents and

children and husbands and wives rely on honesty and communication  to make

them strong. He wholeheartedly supported this “7-Minute  Blessings Card” 
initiative

as a meaningful way of strengthening relationships.

After this forum, Taiwan Association for Happy Marriages is  scheduled to tour 
19

cities across Taiwan and hold 22 forums. It hopes this  “7-Minute Blessings 
Card”

initiative will help thousands of families become happier and  healthier.

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