I have this vivid memory from my childhood. I was at a friend’s house for dinner when suddenly my friend’s dad opened up a old, boring looking, devotional book and began leading the family in a Bible study. It was terrible. I, along with everyone else around the table was bored to tears. The devotional was too old for kids, my friend’s dad was clearly going through the motions, and it was obvious that everyone just wanted to leave the table. And yet, the guy droned on for about 20 minutes. In that moment, I vowed to never bore my kids to tears with Jesus and the Bible. I decided that I would never lead boring family devotions…and then I had my own kids.
Fast forward a few years and now I have four kids of my own. What I want more than anything in the world is for my kids to fall in love with Jesus–for them to understand God’s incredible, amazing, transformational love for them. I desperately want them to understand the Bible, how it works, what it means and how it intersects with their life. My great hope is that they would join their lives with God’s mission in the world and experience life the way it was meant to be lived.
I’m realizing that in order for these dreams to come true, my wife and I have to work very hard. Yes, God is the One who makes faith grow, but I believe we as parents have a role too. The truth is, it takes discipline and persistence to build a worldview, particularly in a culture that’s becoming more and more opposed to a biblical worldview.
To my consternation, I’ve discovered that one of the best ways to grow faith in my kids is family devotions. For years I fought this idea because I don’t want my kids to associate boredom with Jesus, but now I’ve realized that family devotions don’t have to suck. There are, for example, amazing resources available. My two favorite books happen to be by the same author, Sally Lloyd-Jones, who I was privileged to briefly meet at Hutchmoot. You’re probably familiar with the first, The Storybook Bible.
I love this book! The stories and the illustrations are fantastic for little kids. We’ve read this through a few times at bed time with our kids. It’s a great way to build a biblical foundation with your kids at home. The second book is a devotional that we’ve been using at family meals. It’s called, Thoughts to Make Your Heart Sing.
I’ve been very impressed with this book. My kids love it! I think it is more poetic that devotional, but for my family, it functions perfectly as a short devotional following our evening meal. My kids engage with the material in a way that fills me with hope. If you have elementary kids at home, this book might be a great fit.
Let me encourage you, if you are a parent of young children, to take advantage of your time with your kids. It won’t be long before they stop listening to you the way they are right now. Spoiler alert, your kid will become teenagers! Capitalize on your time together by teaching them the Bible in a way that is fun and engages their budding faith. These two books are great resources but let me know if you’ve discovered a resource or a practice that works well in your family.
