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I wrote a whole post about family devotions, and it was shared over 800 times.
I’ve written lists of great devotional resources for families and have shared in parenting classes about family devotions and praying with our kids and living authentically at home.
But that doesn’t mean we get it right all the time. In fact, most of the time, we have a long way to go to be where I want to be.
Family devotions can be challenging. Whether it’s because of a busy schedule or lack of leadership or just plain apathy, it’s easy to ditch the effort and skip family devotions all together! Ever been there?
I’ve had many of the same doubts and questions others have shared with me:
- Where do we start?
- Which resource is best?
- Is the effort paying off?
- What if it’s me leading and not my husband?
- Do family devotions make any difference?
On and on the questions run, leaving many of us feeling overwhelmed. {My tendency is to overthink things and get stalled before I even start!} But I’ve learned (am learning?) to begin somewhere — to just start!
If you’ve ever felt these same insecurities or asked similar questions, can I just encourage you? Start somewhere. You might not choose the best devotional available. You might not have the best plan in place. But starting somewhere is better than not starting at all!
Begin. Start where you are and make changes as you go. A little bit of God’s Word is whole lot better than none.
We had a re-start like this in our family this summer. Our family Bible time was set on hold with the arrival of our newest little one, and getting back into normal routines took some time. I felt overwhelmed and didn’t know the best way to start again, so we chose simple.
I grabbed this book off my shelf, even though it’s one we’ve used in the past, with the plan to go through slowly, spending only 5-10 minutes a day at the breakfast table talking about God’s Word and praying together.
I’m ashamed to say that I didn’t expect much, but Friends, God showed up! With this little resource, during our short time together, God spoke to us through His Word.
Though I hadn’t planned it, the verses and stories in the first few weeks of the book were exactly what we needed to hear, totally applicable to the individual struggles we were all facing, and provided for great conversation with the kids!
I was so struck by how God takes the little we give and multiplies it.
Even more than that, though, God reminded me that we can’t change our kids, and we can’t make our kids change. It is the Holy Spirit who works in their hearts and changes them. One way He does this is through the Word of God.
Among so many other advantages, God has promised that the Word of God is reliable, powerful and doesn’t return empty to the One who sent it.
My job is to expose my children to the Word of God, to help them hide His Word in their hearts. The rest I trust to the Holy Spirit. If I’m not getting my kids in the Word, how can I expect the Word to do its work in their hearts?
We are living proof that even a few minutes together in the Word is worth the effort. Just begin.
Question for you:
What keeps you from reading the Bible together as a family? What can I do to help or encourage you?
Resources for you:
Family Devotions: Resources to Help your Family Grow
Flickr Photo Credit: Helga Weber (original photo without text)
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