Kids and Devotion Time
What are your fondest memories with your kids? Whether yours are grown and out of the house or you're still in the middle of raising small people, there are some moments that make us smile and think, "That was time very well spent."
Snuggled into blankets on the wicker porch furniture, everyone's eyes still little slits, the sun begins to warm the grey floorboards and our feet. The smell of my coffee wakes up brain cells and Lewis squirms on my lap asking for a sip. Rhys arrives last, his hair matted on one side. I open up a worn blue book and everyone settles in.
Nothing makes me remember time well spent more than thinking on the hundreds of times my kids and I have connected over God's word. What begins as a simple 20 minute reading time then becomes a chance to check in with each of my kids emotions, worries, and joys that day. Kids ask hard questions and I become as much a student as they are in the process. No matter how old my kids get, I want this time to be a part of our normal. I've already experienced a taste of the bittersweet independence they gain as they grow up and away from me. It's so much harder now, to wrangle everyone into an activity together- due to time and interest levels. I've been a little shocked to discover things I love to do with my kids (hours of nature journaling with watercolors, long bike rides and baking) go by the wayside because one or more of the tribe just doesn't want to. Do I force them into the kitchen with an apron? Or march them into the field of wildflowers with a 30 minute painting deadline? It's hard to know how much to make your kids do because, hello, like almost all things in life they don't know what's good for them. Also, I've learned from experience that groans of "Nooooo, do we have to go?" quickly become, "What? We have to leave already?".
I've seen it start as a 15 minute story time in the toddler years (We've read through this simple and wonderful book, The Jesus Storybook Bible, about 1006 times) and grow into deep discussion and sharing time for all of us. I can't wait to see what the years to come bring. (Freyja and I just started this book, Fearless Faith, a gift from her grandma, and I think it will be amazing since she and I both love to write. It's touted as a book for girls which is kind of too bad, since I think it would be great for boys too, Jude joined us for a session yesterday and liked it.)
Is every morning a magical experience of becoming one with God where we all wax philosophical and poetic? Um, no. But day by day the moments, good or bad, deep or surface level, add up to make us children walking closer and closer with our Heavenly Father.
This time will serve as a lifeline when my kids are going through hard times in the life-long journey of growing up, it will look different, I'm sure and will morph with everyone's needs but I don't ever want to give it up.
If you're still trying to figure out a good devotion time for your family, here are some things I've learned along the way.
1. Make it joyful
Not a morning person? Don't rouse everyone from bed and slog through the reading, maybe your best time is when everyone is in pajamas with freshly washed hair, or in the middle of the afternoon when everyone needs a chill pill, or after dinner around the table.
2. Make it consistent
Having realistic expectations is key. If everyone in your clan is under 6, don't pull out the concordance and launch into a mini sermon. But on the same note, don't bore them. I discovered, even though I still had a 3 year old, it was time to give my 11 and 9 year old more. We've been borrowing this book from a neighbor. . . for over a year. . . so yeah, I think it's time to invest in my own. It provides a walk through the Bible for your older kids and gives them the Old Testament history which is easy to skip if it feels dry or confusing. Also, its a great "one room schoolhouse" book because the youngest ones still get a lot out of it when you take a minute to explain. It looks to me like this new edition has the same content as the antique one.
3. Make it a conversation
Some mornings we are reading between bites of scrambled eggs and rushing out the door, but when we can (especially summer time) I like to drag out it out, leaving plenty of time for questions and discussion. So often my kids provide all the further probing we need, but if everyone seems unengaged I start asking the questions, often even ones I don't have a ready made answer for. My kids and I are in communion learning together, and nothing is better.
4. Make it prayerful
I always remember my catechism teacher saying, "After you've heard what God has to say, He wants to hear what you have to say. Answer him!"
I want my kids to learn early that their heavenly father is waiting eagerly to hear their words. We praise him and ask for what we need, and pour out what is bothering or grieving us. We have prayed family and friends through cancer, and injury, through pregnancies and salvation, joys and sorrows and it allows my kids and I to view our life through the lens of God together.
Special times of the year
Once you have a routine of devotion time together I love looking forward to the special time of the year when we mix it up. For us that's pretty much just Easer and Christmas but I love that we've created some meaningful traditions that we can actually do instead of a Pinterest board of a million Bible crafts and activities I will never actually get to. For Easter we make a garden tomb and read through the scripture for Holy Week and for Christmas I make 24 brown paper bags with a candy inside for everyone and a small present for one member of the family, taking turns each night. We read through this advent book and enjoyed it last year. We usually light an advent candle (when I've gotten my act together and have them on hand) and finish with a Christmas carol.
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What about you? What are your favorite books and traditions for making this time rich? Share them with us!
