An Attempt at Family Devotionals

     When I was in grade school, my teachers always referred to any first draft of writing as the "sloppy copy." Double spaced with the intention to mark all over it with corrections and changes, it would visually be a bit hard on the eyes because it was the sloppy copy. I fondly remember red ink, arrows drawn, suggestions for new paragraphs, circled words, etc. But the mess was intended to create a clean outcome that those reading it would be pleased with.

     In our family, we've been attemtping family devotionals with our little ones at night. My 9 month old is really just along for the ride, but often times he can present some distractions. Our 3 year old is interested, but the real questions is, 'Can she sit still?!'

     We have had a few "sloppy copies" of what this family devotional time looks like. It will change as the kids get older, and we have to adapt it for the ages of the children involved. I don't know about you, but sometimes the fear of failing and "doing it wrong" can paralyze me from even attempting something. Attempting family devotionals won't look perfect, but God will do the growing and changing of hearts.

     So for us, our "devotionals" are pretty simple. I play 2 songs on my guitar and we sing familiar worship songs with the kids. These are easy to learn songs with simple, repetitive verses. There are probably 4 different songs that my daughter knows. Kids learn through repetition, so pick a few songs that are simple enough to learn (maybe even some that you can add some actions to it for fun), and stick with those. To help with this time, we also give each kid a little instrument for added fun and interest. Even Owen at 9 months gets to sit in his bumbo and shake an egg with some rice in it.

     After the worship songs, we let Ava pick a story out of the Jesus Storybook Bible that she wants us to read. We read it, we ask questions along the way, and we ask questions at the end. Depending on the story, we may act out a certain portion of it as well. Ava loves the story of David and Goliath and enjoys having Daddy be the giant. And then, we always end our time with prayer. 

     What have you and your family done for devotionals, and could you also share what ages your kids are?