Family Devotion

Family devotion is an important part of our family life. It is our desire to instill this practice in our children's hearts and minds. I must admit that we had been very inconsistent since Matthew's birth. We saw the importance of it so we got the ball rolling, but eventually fatigue and exhaustion overwhelmed us which took us off the course. As time went on, we were reminded again of the value of family devotion so we started it again. So it went, on again and off again and so forth. As we add more children to our growing family, more work is involved and of course more excuses for not having family devotion. Recently we revisit this topic and are determined to get it going despite the fact we are about to have our fourth child in six weeks.

Thus far we have been doing a very simple family devotion right after dinner. We find this to be the best time for us. Everyone is still seated after dinner so no need to gather all the children around. My husband reads a chapter or two from the Bible and then concludes the time with a prayer. Our children are required to sit still and be quiet. As we all mature, both adults and children, we will add more to this valuable time. At this point, we will just have a simple Bible reading time followed by a prayer.

If you're unsure or are overwhelmed by the thought of starting a family devotion, take heart and start with something simple. Once you get this routine going, it is easy to maintain. I do look forward to the day where my children look to this time together with joy.