Driving the Kids To School Family Devo
Submitted by Sonia Montoya | Comments (0) | Submit a Comment

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up.

My children attend a private Christian School. They are required to memorize one scripture per week. On our way to school, I like to review their memory verse with them. First, to make sure they have memorized it, and second, to discuss the verse with them. God has used our short drive to school to break down a verse & learn the meaning of it. By doing so, three things are being applied:

1. Observation- What does the text say?
2. Interpretation- What does the text mean?
3. Application- How should I respond?

My children are learning how to break down the text by observation, interpretation & most of all application. Sure my children don't understand that they are learning this biblical method, but God is already beginning to train their mind at a young age. This is done at their level of comprehension.

Whether you are on your way to school, or to the grocery store or just out running errands, use every opportunity as a teaching opportunity of God's Word. Our children won’t forget God's Word, for they are hiding it in their Heart!

One final note. Before my children leave the van, we make sure to commit our day to the Lord through prayer. Each of my children pray for their day. What a blessing as a mother, to hear my children praying to our Heavenly Father.

Notes from Nancy
Thank you for sharing Sonia! This idea is great for children of all ages, no matter where they go to school. What a great way to start the day.

The Younger Family Devotional
Submitted by Kari Marbury | Comments (0) | Submit a Comment

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deut. 6:6

I'll fill you in on how the Marbury gang goes about their family devotions.

It's usually in the morning before Justin goes to church. He reads from the New Testament and also from "My Utmost for His Highest." We finish in family prayer.

And then at night, we read to the girls from a devotional book specific to their age group. We chat a bit about the devo, talk about prayer requests, and then have the girls pray individually. Usually, we end the time with Seth (he’s only 2) singing "Jesus Loves Me," or "Jesus Loves the Little Children" and maybe one or two more worship songs that he knows.

Pretty simple, but it really works best for us, especially in the morning ~ that's when we're all more alert. Justin and I really want to start the day in the Word, and end the day on more of a devotional note. Thought I'd pass it along!

Notes from Nancy

Can’t you just feel the loving, fun and relaxed atmosphere Kari and Justin have established in their family devotions! What a sweet time of enjoying God and one another. Christ centered family devotions, with Christ at the center. Thank you Kari. Well done you guys.

TEAM TRIPS or FAMILY VACATION Devotional
Submitted by Nancy Galligan | Comments (0) | Submit a Comment

By Nancy Galligan

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deut. 6:6-7

Remember, your devo time doesn't need to go on vacation -- take your study with you, or come up with a study idea that really partners well with your trip. The following example is provided by Judy Sutton

My son travels a lot with his high school baseball team. At the beginning of the season, the coaches asked the boys to write down 3 attributes of a good teammate. The coaches then looked at all submissions and chose the top 3 for the team. On each road trip (they are usually 3 days long) the coaching staff has one devotion per day based on one of the attributes.

This season’s attributes were:
1) encouragement;
2) discipline; and
3) perseverance.

For instance; on Thursday, the devotion would consist of a teaching and discussion of encouragement and include a sheet of Bible verses that speak on this topic. Then Friday and Saturday, the other two attributes would be covered, in the same way.

Notes from Nancy:
This devo is perfect for team participation. It could also be great for families on vacation. What an opportunity to have fun and be creative! For instance, you could cover attributes for days or weeks if you choose to! Then possibly focus on fruits of the Spirit. Be creative! Go to the Bible and look for ideas together.

The Foundation
Submitted by Nancy Galligan | Comments (0) | Submit a Comment

By Nancy Galligan

"And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up." Deut. 6:6-7

A family devotional is nothing more than the family hanging out with God together, reading His Word, singing to Him and talking about Him together as a family. The following example is provided by Larissa Lusko.

One thing we’ve done for family devos is rotate among family members. For example, each Sunday evening, Chip handed out the devo assignment for the following week. Sunday evening is family night, and no one's allowed to make any plans so that all can be home for family time together. We start in a book of the Bible, and go chapter by chapter, each person taking a chapter every week. We’d open with prayer, sing a worship song or two, and begin with the study.

This served many purposes:
1) It taught the kids how to teach expository Bible study - they watched us as parents and tried to emulate us. We taught them the basics of Bible Study:
a) What does it (text) say?
b) What does it mean?
c) What does it mean to me personally in my life?

2) It opened up a line of communication talking about biblical issues, allowing our kids to ask the "tough" questions (Why do bad things happen to good people? Why is there evil in the world? etc.)

3) It taught the kids "let no man despise your youth" meaning if they could read, they could give a devo. This gave them the tools and confidence needed to speak among their peers.

4) It brought us together weekly to bring prayer requests to one another and allowed Chip and I to be aware of the challenges the kids were facing.

This time wasn't anything fancy but this was incorporated with a game night, movie night, ice cream outing, etc.

Notes from Nancy:
You could use this devotional, as an awesome format to initiate ‘weekly’ devotions as well as Family time. To do ‘daily’ devotions on the other 6 days, simply adjust the times that will accommodate your family’s schedule…and commit to being consistent.