Family Devotion Guidelines

We have posted the Family Devotions that we have done in our home. Please feel free to use them and to pass them along. I welcome your comments about them as well.

Here are a couple of notes on how to use them:
*Find a time that will be consistent every day for your family to gather for 15-20 minutes. For us, breakfast time is best.
*Avoid discouragement and frustration when it seems that the kids are not paying attention. Strive to make the discussion inviting for them. Try to make sure they are talking more than you. (But they will be listening even when you don't think they are.)
*There are generally 5 days of devotions and 1 Family Night Activity. Each week has a theme with a memory verse and definition to review each day. Continue to use these throughout the day, and the weeks to come, to reinforce what God is teaching your family.
*We have included some stand-alone devotions for weeks that turn topsy-turvy.
*Using the Bibles from your children gives them ownership into the discussion as well. We recommend NIrV and NLT for an easy-to-read format for kids.
*A tip on reading Scripture aloud: If your kids begin to zone out during the Scripture reading and can't remember that they are supposed to be answering a question, read one line or phrase at a time with dialogue in between.
*We like to use the dictionary to look up definitions of words. It gives the kids an opportunity to develop the skill of research.

These are some things that we have learned, but we are still learning! We pray that the Lord would teach your family as He is teaching ours!