When I was in college I would stay some weekends with a nearby family who had 3 sweet daughters. Part of their routine was morning devotions where each child found a quiet corner to curl up in before breakfast to read and pray. I adopted that habit from that moment until my first child was born when I let sleep deprivation derail my efforts.
The benefits of personal devotion time are many. I remember feeling a closeness to God and felt like I could ask him anything and He would answer. I still have many verses memorized just from those daily readings and am able to find things quickly in the scriptures because I spent a lot of time in them. I think too about the impact of growing up in a home where you saw your mother reading the Bible daily, just for enjoyment! I want to be a mother like that, and be a good example for the Children.
Personal devotions doesn’t have to be first thing in the morning. It can happen any time it works out well for your family. I plan to stick it in when we have been working long and hard at a task and need a break. I’ll ring a bell to signal the children to grab their scriptures and find a comfy placethat’s private. The non-readers can look at the Bible in pictures for little eyes. To help us stick with it, it won’t be a long time, about 5-10 minutes.
Have you sucessfully impleneted personal devotion time for you and your children? What works for you?
We take some “quiet time” in the afternoon in our family, (formerly known as nap-time when the kids were smaller), and if we haven’t had personal devotions before that time, we read then.
Angela, I LOVE this. Thank you so much for writing it. I cannot wait to implement it with my kiddos. Andrea in NH
Hi, Angela!
What a wonderful idea! I need to be “in the word” more. What works for us, however, is prayer time. My husband leaves for work before the kids are up (and sometimes before I am). So he prays with me before he leaves. After I have gotten the kids up and fed, we sit on the couch and pray together. Now, my kids are both very young and both are non-verbal. So I pray first. Then I have the baby pray. I say a prayer in first person as if she were praying. Then I have my three year old pray, in the same manner. (He is Autistic and knows that once he has prayed that we are all done.) When we have visitors during prayer time, we always give them opportunity to pray with us. On the weekend, when my husband and I are both home, one of us will say the prayer and the other one will repeat it, as if they are speaking for the child. We have found this works incrediably well to get our children in the habit of praying.
We also have a book shelf in our living room with children’s scripture books. At random times we will pick up books to read. My older child doesn’t like for me to read to him anymore. However, he will often pick up the books and look at them himself. My baby loves it when I read to her. I usually try to read three books at a time, since she enjoys them so much.
Thank you again for a wonderful post!
Renee
I can see that my previous post would be better posted under “family devotions.” As far as personal time, I have found (in my youth and pre-marriage/pre-children life), to take time first thing in the morning, before the day gets busy to read my scriptures and pray. I made it part of my morning routine, making sure to get up early enough to do it. If I waited until the evening, I was too tired to “bother.” Just as I wouldn’t skip brushing my teeth in the morning, I wouldn’t skip my personal devotion time either.
I must confess, that now that I have children, it is very difficult to make that time. Sleep is so valuable to me, that I don’t get up early to read my scriptures. Perhaps I should. I guess that gives me something to work on.
I am mom of 9 children that we have been home educating for 24 years. Several are grown and on their own. 4 are still at home. Throughout the years I have spent time in my own personal devotions early in the morning, sometimes it was hit and miss. My older children have informed me that seeing me having my personal time with Jesus inspired them to do the same. Even I saw my own Mom early in the morning when I was on my way out the door to college. There she was, quietly spending time with God. Never underestimate the impact you are making on your children. Your actions speak much louder than what you say. I do ask my younger children, “Have you read God’s Word and talked to God today?” My husband and I try to have regular family devo’s but sometimes things get very busy (like this past weekend the 20-year-old got married) and we missed our devo’s. This does help the children realize that God is not angry or dissapointed when we miss our quiet time with Him. Our God is so merciful and patient with us. So keep on trying, don’t get overwhelmed and enjoy moments with our Savior.