Family Devotional 101 (Part 4 of 4)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take on a couple of different topics that will require some length. So, I'll break it into "bite-size" chunks!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 4)

A Plea to Dads

Dads, please hear my heart. Take the lead in your family. The Bible tells you to do it. With leadership comes responsibility. The Lord hasn’t given you leadership for your own sake but that you could serve your family. Leadership and responsibility work hand in hand.

I know it’s hard. I know you’re busy, and that there are so many days during the week that you come home exhausted and want to curl up in the bed. I know that sometimes you don’t feel strong enough spiritually to lead your family. The admittance of that to yourself and to your family is a wonderful example to them that you’re not “there” yet either.

I’m pleading with you, on behalf of an entire generation. Don’t let someone else, some TV show, or some other influence mold and shape your children. God gave them to you as a gift, to do your best with them for as many years as you have them. Find time with them every day to talk about the things of God.

Final Encouragement

You can do this…You must do this! Don’t leave the discipleship of your children to someone else, even if you feel like you’re not adequately prepared. Parents are the single most important influence in a child’s life. That can be a scary thought. It ought to produce fear and trepidation in the hearts of parents. But there’s a good kind of fear, the kind of fear that pushes us to keep pressing forward, to keep trying, and to never give up.

Family Devotional 101 (Part 3 of 4)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take on a couple of different topics that will require some length. So, I'll break it into "bite-size" chunks!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 3)

What should I do during this “devotional” time

I want to do my best to take the stigma off of “family devotional time.” Most people hear that phrase and they get really nervous, thinking that they have to have a grand 4-year plan for working through all the stories of the Bible. It really doesn’t have to be that hard, and if you were to over-plan or super-prepare, you might come off as cold and stale.

The number one thing you can do is to…Read the Bible! Read the Bible! Read the Bible! Why?

“The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul; the testimony of the Lord is sure, making wise the simple; the precepts of the Lord are right, rejoicing the heart; the commandment of the Lord is pure, enlightening the eyes...More to be desired are they than gold, even much fine gold; sweeter also than honey and drippings of the honeycomb. Moreover, by them your servant is warned; in keeping them there is great reward.” Psalm 19:7-11

“How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. With my whole heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Psalm 119:9-11

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work.” 2 Timothy 3:16

There are so many more passages that talk about the impact of Scripture in our lives. It’s amazing how much kids get out of reading the Bible. Take a passage of Scripture. You can even have the kid(s) read it for the family. Then simply discuss what they heard, observed, learned, and think about that particular Bible passage.

Try an experiment. Open up to a story of passage of Scripture. Read it together as a family, and then ask a very simple question, “What did you think about what the Bible just said?” You’ll be amazed what a kid will come up with as an answer to that question. It doesn’t have to be long. You can do this in 10 minutes or less, but the impact may be far greater.

So many times, we get wrapped up in trying to teach our children all the books of the Bible and every detail of every Bible story. We don’t need any more Christians who grow up with huge heads (filled up intellectually about God) and tiny, weak hearts (with no passion for God). Personally, if I had to choose, I’d rather have a whole generation of kids who grow up knowing a couple of very simple things that have really gripped them and make a difference in their lives on a daily basis. I want them to know that every thing we have is a gift of God through his grace, including salvation. I want them to know that they can trust God in all situations (good and bad). I want them to know what it means for them to “love their neighbor” and actually do it. You don’t have to be the world’s best Bible teacher to do this! Pick out a couple of big ideas that you want your kids to know and believe with everything they are, and be relentless.

Another really important facet of a “family devotional time” is prayer. I implore you to teach your kids to pray. Model for them how to come to the throne of God and converse with God about what’s going on in their lives. Teach them to not only pray for themselves or the things that affecting them, but teach them, more importantly, to pray for others. Pray for your neighbors. Pray for your family. Pray for their siblings. Pray for their friends. Pray for missionaries around the world.

Do your best to model for them the kind of honesty that prayer requires before God. Pray, pray, and pray some more. Pray without ceasing!

The last part/conclusion is coming up on Monday...see you then!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 2 of 4)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take on a couple of different topics that will require some length. So, I'll break it into "bite-size" chunks!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 2)


When’s the best time

The real answer to that question is…ANYTIME. Anytime is the best time. Whatever works for you as a family within the natural flow of the day.

A natural time to do this is during a meal time or right before bed. It really depends on when you can get everyone in your family in the same room at the same time (a very difficult task considering the realities of the modern family). Another possibility is the car. The average, suburban family spends hours in the car each week. Use that to your advantage.

What about kids on a different level

Most families, if they have multiple children will always have kids who are on different levels intellectually, emotionally, and especially, spiritually. Sometimes this can be difficult, especially with really young children.

The Scriptures are applicable to everyone. Having said that, they are not always applicable in the same way. As your children get older, it will be extremely important to teach them how to apply the Bible to their individual, daily lives. That’s why open-ended thought provoking questions are a must. One kid might be dealing with a bully situation. Another may have some issues with how they use their tongues. You’re in this together as a family. Every part of the family affects the other, and I would venture to believe that your kids will learn from each other as much as they learn from you.

Still more to come...stay tuned!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 1 of 4)

Over the course of the next couple of weeks, I'm going to take on a couple of different topics that will require some length. So, I'll break it into "bite-size" chunks!

Family Devotional 101 (Part 1)

The Question:

Should a family do devotions together? Why is it so important? Can you give me some tips on how to do this with a family that has so many different age kids who aren’t on the same level? Is it okay to do individual devotions for our children or do we need to find a time to do it all together?

Why should my family have a devotional time

If a child’s parents are supposed to be the #1 spiritually-shaping influence in a child’s life, then there are some things that are absolutely necessary. One of which is a consistent time where the Scriptures are opened, discussed, and applied. There is no way that parents can do raise spiritually healthy children effectively without it. Church attendance is not enough. Listening to Christian radio or CD’s is not enough. Even forcing them to watch TBN isn’t enough (that’s a joke…please don’t do that). How can you pass down the faith, a love for the Scriptures, and a passion for our Heavenly Father, if you never spend any consistent time talking about those things and modeling how that’s done?

One of the easiest ways to do this is to have a daily and intentional time where the things of God are discussed. Children are forming habits that will last them a lifetime. Imagine if from the earliest days a child can remember, they remember a daily time where they heard God’s word or talked about how amazing God is. I have a sneaking suspicion that those particular children will have a better shot at developing a daily time with God for themselves later on in life. It also must be intentional. Time with God doesn’t just happen by accident. If you don’t plan or make a plan, it’s just not going to happen.

The reality is that most families (please don’t hear a guilt trip here…I’m just pointing out realities for the average American family) spend more time talking about their children’s extra curricular activities (soccer, dance, etc.) or a particular TV show than they spend talking about God. The average family gets more “excited” watching a football game or other sporting event than they do when God reveals a little more of Himself to them. Now, I know that all of our families are the exception, but I’m just asking you to think about what we give our energies toward.

More coming later in the week!

Friday Media...

One of the great things that has started to happen in the last decade is this deep look into one of the "unwanted" or "undesired" outcomes of children who grow up in church. We've all heard the statistics about how many of the kids who grow up in church and yet, when they reach adulthood, they leave the church/faith.

There's all kinds of things I could say here...in fact, I have my own ideas/opinions/hypothesis, about why this tends to happen.

There's a study coming out of Fuller Seminary in CA called "Sticky Faith." When I heard the main thesis of the book, it matched many of the thoughts that I had about this phenomenon. It's set to release later this year, but the authors have provided a bit of summary for us. It's an audio podcast summarizing their findings.

Sticky Faith - Summary - Audio

I think this is something you should listen to and consider in your own parenting!

One day you're a hero, and the next....

One of the most interesting parts of the last week of Jesus' life to me is the scene we have when Jesus comes in to Jerusalem riding a donkey. Sometimes it's referred to as the "Triumphal Entry," and it was just that. Jesus was on His way to triumph over sin and death.

One day the crowds are celebrating the arrival of the Messiah. They shout out "Hosanna, Hosanna." Translated - "He Saves!" Growing up in Louisiana, my first picture of this parade and procession reminds me of a Mardi Gras parade. I imagine this moment as complete chaos and frenzy.

Here's the most interesting thing about this story. In just 4 or 5 days, this SAME crowd is shouting out "Crucify Him, Crucify Him!" Jesus went from having the adoration of all the people to being hated enough that the crowd was willing to crucify him and have a murderer/robber in their midst (Barabas). What a turn of events!


I'm sure as a parent, there are times when you are the hero, and then a few days later, you're absolutely hated. There's good news...Jesus knows how that feels. His example to us is that regardless of what others are saying, continue doing what God has called you to do. And what he's called you to do is raise your children in a way that would honor Him.

So, next time the "crowd" at your house or in your community are singing your praises or calling for your demise, you've got a job to do! Stay focused on it!

Throwback Thursday #9

For some who haven't been around here that long, this website is a few years old, and there are wonderful things that I'd like to put in front some of our "newbies" and remind some of the rest of you about. So, we're revisiting some early posts each week on Thursdays!

Original post below:

Raising Children Who Are Confident in God

If you have a few minutes...or if you have a commute...do yourself a favor and listen to this message on raising children who are confident in God. One of your goals as a parent is to instill a belief and confidence in the God of the universe who loves each and every one of your children. How will be the next generation be impacted for Christ...listen up!

Raising Children Who Are Confident in God

"I don't have enough time..."

I don't know how often I'm tempted to say this each and every day. Wasn't one of the promises of technology that it would give us all this "extra time"? The crazy thing is that what was supposed to save us so much TIME (technology), hasn't worked. In fact, the opposite has happened. Technology may have made us busier and less prone to stress, etc.

There are still 24 hours in one day and 7 days in one week. I was reading a post the other day from a website I follow, and the author had a different way at looking at the "I don't have enough time in the day issue." The big takeaway for me was when he said...

"I've stopped saying, “I don’t have the time.” Instead, I started saying “I didn’t make the time.”

It's an interesting thought...read up!

How We Spend Our Days

The Cure for the Common ________

You may be thinking that I'm going to finish that sentence with "cold." I very well could, but I don't know if they've ever found a cure for the common cold.

Instead, I had a whole other epidemic in mind. As a minister to the next generation, one of the things I continually see in suburban kids is a sense of entitlement, which can often lead to "laziness." Personally, as I look around at kids nowadays, I see a lot of laziness. However, much of that laziness has been created by mom and dad under the guise of "love" or "I don't want them to fail" or many other justifications.

But is there a cure? Well, if there is a cure...it's going to start with individual parents. I read a fellow blogger the other day who seemed to be on to something about parents creating a cure for laziness in their homes. He proposed some decent ideas. Some you could adopt, and I'm sure there are others he hasn't listed.

Reverse the Laziness Curse

He's got some really good ideas in there...some personal favorites included:

• "Intentionally bore your kids"
• "Make your kids WORK"

What do you think? Is laziness pandemic in our community and in our children?

Pastor Dad

For you, those two words may not seem to go together. You may be saying, I know I'm a dad, but I'm definitely not a "pastor."

You may have an occupation that doesn't involve the church, but if you're a father, God has called you to pastor your family. The word for pastor really means to "shepherd." Here's a great article that will help you begin to understand some ways you might be able to "shepherd" and "cultivate" your family.

How to Pastor Your Family

Read up, men!

A different kind of 10 Commandments...

I recently ran across this list of "commandments" when it comes to protecting your children and families on-line. The internet is a dangerous place, and as your kids get older, their involvement with technology will only increase. As a parent, you better have a plan.


The 10 Commandments of online safety for kids

1. Thou shalt put the computer in a very public place.
2. Remember thy password and keep it holy.
3. Know thy children’s friends, buddies.
4. Remember thy monitoring software and keep it active.
5. Thou Shalt not allow thy children to post any graven images (photos) without thy permission.
6. Thou shalt not allow any contact information to ever be given out.
7. Thou shalt forbid any meeting in person with online buddies.
8. Remember to check thy child’s history.
9. Though shalt create a separate log in for each child (on a mac, on those other computers).
10. Thou shalt not close your eyes and hope for the best.

Taken from Sam Luce - Source

Would you add any "commandments" to the list?

The Second Shift...

I read an interesting article the other day about some recent research. The basic premise of the article was that in a study of nearly 4,000 couples in the UK, the frequency of divorce was directly related to how much (or how little) the husband helped his wife with tasks such as housework, watching the kids, etc. Seems like a no-brainer, but so few men really get this principle.

Read the article for yourself

Here's my conclusion...and this is based on Scripture, and not some article or research. Dads...if you're not helping around the house...get up off your lazy backside and do stuff. We don't have any excuses. Our call is to serve our families and our wives first and think of our own needs last. So, next time you change that diaper...or cook a meal...or take the kids outside to play to give your wife a break, remember that you're keeping your family healthy and strong

We should be men of the "Second Shift" because our work doesn't end when we get home. In fact, our most important job starts WHEN we get home.

Heart-work is hard-work!

We live in a world that promotes sensuality and immorality. As a little bit of a history buff (spent quite a lot of money on history classes in college), I can tell you that no other time (with the possible exception of the late Roman empire) in history rivals our current society's love of all things sexual, sensual, and promiscuous.

I ran across an article the other day that laid out a few tips on how to begin to prepare the hearts of your youngsters for a life of purity admidst such a promiscuous and sexual world. Here are there four tips...

1. It's never too early
2. Be proactive
3. Show that God's love is IN His boundaries
4. Prepare children to stand out

Read more - Guarding the Heart: Purity in a Promiscuous World

The Danger of Multi-Tasking...

At some point, multi-tasking became something that is required to function in this fast-paced world. In fact, there are a number of different careers or fields of work that reward multi-tasking immensely. They search and search for people who can do it well.

Here's the problem with multi-tasking:

*** "Multitasking, in short, is not only not thinking, it impairs your
ability to think. Thinking means concentrating on one thing long enough to
develop an idea about it. Not learning other people’s ideas, or memorizing a
body of information, however much those may sometimes be useful. Developing your own ideas. In short, thinking for yourself. You simply cannot do that in bursts
of 20 seconds at a time, constantly interrupted by Facebook messages or Twitter
tweets, or fiddling with your iPod, or watching something on YouTube."

So, here's the dilemma...do you teach your children to multi-task (work on a lot of things at one time) or do you work hard (in a culture that is working against you) to teach your children how to "finish" something before moving on to the next thing. There is much research that suggests that those who can focus on one thing at a time are much better at retaining information and processing information.

Interesting thoughts...at least they were for me.

*** The More You Multi-task the Worse You Get at It

Raising Children Who Are Confident in God

If you have a few minutes...or if you have a commute...do yourself a favor and listen to this message on raising children who are confident in God. One of your goals as a parent is to instill a belief and confidence in the God of the universe who loves each and every one of your children. How will be the next generation be impacted for Christ...listen up!

Raising Children Who Are Confident in God

Christmas Tips for Dads...

Now's the time, Dads! The Christmas season gives you lots of opportunities to create memorable moments in the lives of your children. Fight the temptation to fall into the same old patterns, or even worse, stress/worry yourself so much that Christmas time isn't the joyful time it was intended to be. Here's a list of things you need to be thinking about and challenging yourselves with.

#1 – Dad needs a plan for the holidays to ensure his family is loved and memories are made. Dad, what’s your plan?

#2 – Dad needs to check the local guides for what’s going on to make fun holiday plans for the family.

#3 – Dad needs to carve out time for sacred events and experiences to build family traditions that are fun and point to Jesus. Dad, is your calendar ready for December?

#4 – Dad needs to not let the stress of the holidays, including money, cause him to be grumpy with Mom or the kids. Dad, how’s your joy?

#5 – Dad needs to give experiences and not just gifts. Dad, what special memories can you make this holiday season?

#6 – Dad needs to manage the extended family and friends during the holidays. Dad, who or what do you need to say “no” to?

#7 – Dad needs to ensure his family is giving generously during the holidays. Dad, who in need is your family going to adopt and bless?

#8 – Dad needs to schedule a big Christmas daddy date with his daughter. Dad, what’s your big plan for the fancy daddy date?

#9 – Dad needs to schedule guy time with his son. Dad, what are you and your son going to do that is active, outdoors, and fun?

#10 – Dad needs to help Mom get the house decorated. Dad, are you really a big help to Mom with getting things ready?

#11 – Dad needs to ensure some holiday smells and sounds. Dad, is Christmas music on the iPod, is the tree up, and can you smell cookies and cider in your house?

#12 – Dad needs to snuggle up and watch some fun shows with the kids, especially the little ones. Dad, is the DVR set?

#13 – Dad needs to take the family on a drive to see Christmas lights while listening to music and sipping cider. Dad, is it mapped out?

#14 – Dad needs to help Mom get the kids’ rooms decorated. Dad, do the little kids get lights or a small tree in their room?

#15 – Dad needs to read about Jesus and pray over his kids. Dad, how’s your pastoral work going with each of your kids?

#16 – Dad needs to repent of being lazy, selfish, grumpy, or just dumping the holidays on Mom. Dad, are you a servant like Jesus to your family?

This list was developed by Mark Driscoll - Daddy Christmas Tips