Recently, a Mom in our community asked me about our bedtime routine. I had shared briefly about it at another forum, and she wanted to know more. She was being led by the Holy Spirit to read the Bible together as a family and I was glad to hear it.
Here goes: the children start the day with their Bible Based morning confession (please add hyper-link of previous blog on Bible Based morning Confessions here). This is something I taught them line by line from when they could talk. They did not memorize it as a whole all at one go but in increments through the years. They are now 9 and 7.
After this, they do their stretching routine for about 15 to 20 minutes depending on their level of seriousness or engagement that day. As active members of swim club, stretching daily is very important to prevent muscle cramps and also ensures they are more agile in the water.
Next is morning chores which usually includes putting the living room in order and sweeping the house.
Once this is done, we get into morning Family Devotions. When my husband is working from home, he will join us for this part, and it is such a treat and a joy to come to the Lord together as a family in the morning. I know it is rare for families to get to do this these days because of busy schedules, so I treasure these moments and do not take them for granted. As a homeschooling family, we are blessed to get to do this everyday. But maybe this is something you could do with your family on weekends and holidays.
Devotions start with a hymn that I will have printed out (I store these in a file for re-use) including a short biography on the hymn writer. For example, last week our hymn was Love Divine by Charles Wesley. Charles Wesley (1707–1788) was a prolific English Methodist leader and hymnwriter who authored over 6,500 hymns, significantly shaping Protestant worship. His most famous hymns, often characterized by passionate devotion and theological depth, include “Hark! The Herald Angels Sing,” “O for a Thousand Tongues to Sing,” “And Can It Be,” and “Love Divine, All Loves Excelling”.
After the hymn, the children alternate day by day in reading the Bible, which is usually a Psalm, Proverb of the day or sometimes we read through a book of the Bible like Colossians or Titus chapter by chapter.
Following the Bible reading, we all take turns talking about the Bible verse that stood out most for us and how we can apply it in our daily lives. When the children were younger, they would just repeat the last verse that was read and that is ok given their age. As long as they hear God’s word daily and have it on their lips, it is getting into their soul as well and soon you will see the fruit. Or sometimes their minds will wonder off, and they have nothing to say because they were not paying attention. In that case, I will have them re-read the chapter after reminding them that paying attention to what the Bible has to say is important. It is the difference between life and death. They do not enjoy repeating the reading so that is incentive to listen well the first time around. I know sometimes you just want to get through with it because you have so much on your plate that day and it may feel like this part is eating up a big chunk of your time but trust me it is not a waste of time but an investment. You are training up your children in the way of the Lord so that when they are old, they will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6.
Something worth noting is that when the children were too young to read, I would read out a verse and have them repeat it after me. I did this until the Bible chapter reading of the day was done because it is important that as Christians, even little Christians, we have the word of God in our mouth and speak out the word of God. It is our duty as parents to help our children do that.
Life and death are in the power of the tongue. Proverbs 18:21. So speak the life-giving words of the Bible.
After the Bible reading is prayer time. Everyone has a chance to pray and thank God for the new day, thank Him for protection through the night and pray for things like relatives, missionaries, friends, our Church, our community and also what ever the Bible reading taught us that day like humility, kindness or faith in God.
Next on our morning routine is breakfast which I would have prepared as they stretched or did chores.
Then we get into the day with homeschool, field trips or extra curricular activities.
That is our daily routine, rinse and repeat. Day after day. Except for weekends and holidays of course where we may have out of the ordinary plans and commitments.
As it has been said, having constant piles of laundry means you have a variety of clothes to wear, a sink full of dishes means you have food to eat along with the appetite and health to enjoy it, a house that needs cleaning daily means you are a healthy family that is active and mobile.
I’m learning to love and appreciate the beauty of the mundane and ordinary because there in lies the richness of togetherness and family. If you will just notice it and appreciate it for the treasure that it is.
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Read more of Rachel’s contributions to AllMomDoes here.
