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Would you like to let God shape more of your family life?
Would you like to let God shape more of your family life?
Every family schedule is different.
So, some days and times will work better than others.
Some family schedules are packed.
So, some creativity might be needed to re-institute God's word as an anchor to your family.
Every family has a different next step to take.
So, what might yours might be?
Every family schedule is different.
So, some days and times will work better than others.
Some family schedules are packed.
So, some creativity might be needed to re-institute God's word as an anchor to your family.
Every family has a different next step to take.
So, what might yours might be?
As you consider the ideas below,
remember the Lord is full of grace and has all things in his hands.
As you consider the ideas below,
remember the Lord is full of grace and has all things in his hands.
There are plenty of ideas below, but take a moment to consider
1 or 2 fresh ideas you'd like to integrate into your own family.
Navigation
Navigation
Incidental moments.
Incidental moments.
Bring faith into everyday moments.
Bring faith into everyday moments.
Incidental moments "as you walk along the road" (Deut 6:6-8)
Incidental moments "as you walk along the road" (Deut 6:6-8)
Weekly memory verse.
Challenge your family to learn a new memory verse each week. Print and put on the fridge.
Verbalising God thoughts.
Notice things around you and link them to faith.
"Thanks God for rainbows! Do you remember what a rainbow reminds us of?"
"What a beautiful day! God is so kind."
"This tastes so good! How cool is it that God made taste buds!"
"I can hear a siren, let's pray for anyone who needs help."
Phone reminders.
Use reminders on your phone to pray for your children through the week.
Bring God into your problems.
When a child confides in you about something hard at school or an issue they are facing, instead of first rushing to solve it, bring it to God.
Prayer can refocus our hearts on His good will and power.
Snack-time check in.
Check in on your children while they eat their after school snack.
What different things happened at school today?
Thank God for the good and pray about the hard stuff.
Transitions
Transitions
There are daily transitions that occur between activities than can allow for a re-frame of mind when brought to God in prayer.
Praying before church. "Father, please help us to love and serve others well and be ready to think and learn about you today."
Praying before school. "Father give my daughter courage to live for you today. Help my son to think of others before himself."
Before an adventure. "Thankyou that you give us great gifts like this chance to go to the movies! Keep us safe and thankful."
Coming home from school. "Thankyou for the gift of learning, friends and fun. You are so kind Father."
Before a Bible time. "Father, as we hear your Word, help us to listen and obey, because your way is the best way."
What other transitions can you commit to the Lord in prayer?
Dedicated times.
Dedicated times.
A collection of intentional Bible time ideas.
A collection of intentional Bible time ideas.
Morning.
Morning.
Personal time with God.
As children become old enough to read, they gain the ability to spend time in God's word. They might not be read a full text Bible alone yet, but you can give them access to their own kids Bible. There are also great short Bible devotions available for purchase here.
Breakfast Prayer.
Ask what good and bad things might happen at school today. Pray for them. Ask if they can pray for you too. Share your lives and your heart to know, love and rely on God in your life.
Breakfast Bible time.
Consider what a manageable chunk of scripture would be for your child and read it over breakfast. Talk about any questions the verse or passage raises.
You could:
read a Proverb each morning.
read bite size verses from Psalm 139.
read sections from Jesus' Sermon On The Mount from Matthew 6.
choose a gospel and read a small portion over each breakfast time.
read a story each day from one of the suggested kids Bibles.
Morning walk
"If you get ready for school by a certain time you get to go for a walk with me around the block!" Be intentional about thanking God for the quality time you got to share.
Car trips.
Car trips.
Christian music in the car.
Have Christian music to sing along to as you drive home. You could even do this when other children are in the car! Quality Christian music in the car will wash over your passengers and sink in deep over time.
Car "thank you" prayers.
Ask what they are thankful to God for about their day. After each child has shared say “THANKYOU GOD!”
Share some highs and lows from your day and how you could see God at work.
Car trip podcast.
Listen to a kids podcast on the way to or from school. They can provide entertainment and provoke good discussion. Anna Ware's The Word on the Street podcast provides some family discussion questions you could use.
Some other suggested podcasts can be found here.
Dinner.
Dinner.
Bible story.
Choose a kid’s Bible and simply read a story each night after dinner. Be considerate about your children's attention spans. Welcome questions. If you don't know the answer, be honest and make time to investigate the unknown for yourself.
Family prayer time.
God loves when we pray. You could take turns praying about what you've just read. You could pray about the day you've had or upcoming events. You could pray thankyou prayers. Pray for family members who aren't with you. Pray for a missionary your church supports.
After dinner.
After dinner.
Family praise.
Listen to some Christian music with the aim of praising God and memorising the lyrics. ‘Sovereign Grace Music’ has some great adult and kids’ albums. The Corner Room and St Jude's own Lampstand Kids has memory verse songs your family can learn.
Closed door prayer.
Jesus in his sermon on the mount teaches us to go into our room, close the door, and pray to our heavenly Father who is unseen.
Enjoy a family moment individually praying in a private room or area of your home.
It is deeply encouraging to spend even just 2 minutes praying personally and sometimes overhearing your children as they experience relating to their relational God.
Bible acting.
Sometimes the Bible story you read will be perfect to act out. Pull out the dress-ups and do some fun pretend play.
Question and answer box.
Have kids write questions and answer one each night using the bible as the main source of information. For older children, encourage them to search for answers for themselves using the Bible. This will take some intentional time personally reading and developing your own concise answers. Older children will also benefit from being given a starting point to begin their search. Consider finding a passage they can dig into that might give them an answer.
Catechism.
Catechisms are a unique question and answer method of teaching Christian theology to children.
This article sheds light on the value of catechism in todays culture.
Some use the New City Catechism.
Bed time.
Bed time.
Bed time stories.
Make use of the wonderful storehouse of Christian story books available. Tales That Tell The Truth is a great series as well as The Very Best Bible Stories series. Of course you could use this time to read through a children's Bible or full text Bible.
Prayer.
Pray for their sleep and faith. Ask them what they would like prayer for. Ask them to pray for you and share a prayer point with them.
Bed-time audio.
Some children enjoy listening to stories as they fall asleep. The Jesus Storybook Bible has some wonderfully narrated stories to enjoy anytime. Relaxing Christian music could also be of benefit here.
Weekend/sabbath.
Weekend/sabbath.
Sabbath.
Sabbath isn't just resting, but resting with spiritual intentionality. How could you set aside a day to honour God, remembering him as Creator and Saviour, refocusing your family on the eternal hope found in Jesus? Use some of the ideas above. Dedicate some time to read, pray, and do things that re-energize your spiritual focus as a family.
Prioritising church and church events.
Coming to church is a key factor in the faith formation of you and your children. Resolving to come to church every week will have a profound long term impact on you and your children. As the gospel is clearly recalled each Sunday, and your children see you putting others first in self-sacrificial service, your kids will be enriched with a firm spiritual and relational foundation as they engage with Christian peers and brothers and sisters in Christ from different generations.
Milestones.
Milestones.
We can make use of regular and one-off milestones to bolster children's faith.
We can make use of regular and one-off milestones to bolster children's faith.
Regular and one-off milestones.
Regular and one-off milestones.
Monthly check in.
Each month you could ask your older children how they would like to read the Bible and pray this month.
"What book of the Bible would you like to read this month?"
"How many chapters will you read each day/week? Would you like a devotion to help you?"
"Would you like to write some prayer topics down to help you know what you'd like to pray?"
"Would it help if I reminded you or would you like to do it yourself?"
Birthdays and school grades.
As each year passes your child grows in maturity and capacity. Perhaps there's a birthday when your child can receive their first full text Bible. Maybe when your child hits high school you could take them on a special trip (the bush? the city?) where you focus on exploring faith and having fun.
Christian and secular holidays.
Consider a devotional to make use of things like Lent and Advent. Make the most of Christmas and Easter to bolster the details of the good news.
You can even turn around holidays like Halloween. Instead of celebrating the darkness, have a celebration of light. Set up fun lights in your home and have a dance party, or have an evening lit solely by candles and speak about how Jesus is the undefeated light of the world.
You can even use the Kings Birthday long weekends as a reason to praise God for being the biggest and best King. Time to get creative!
New year.
New Years resolutions have their place. Used well they are a great moment to decide on a new direction for your family's faith journey.
Even if you end up slipping after a few months, what a great step and a joy to have tried!
Inspiration.
Inspiration.
Raising Disciples
Raising Disciples
Evangelical, reformed inspiration to raise your children with intentionality to know and love Jesus. Leah offers thoughtful and relatable insights on Christian family life.
Christ For My Children
Christ For My Children
A Sydney mum who documents her own home discipleship. Packed with loads of great Bible play ideas, Chloe continues to develop simple plans for discipling young kids.
Lift Their Eyes
A couple from Moore College who have created some great physical resources to help your children learn about the Bibles big story, who God is and how to pray.
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