Family Devotional Resources

With a new school year starting up, we find ourselves getting back into routine. We dig out the calendar that's been collecting dust all summer and start filling in the boxes again. We organize school supplies, set alarm clocks, and lay out the lunch making station. 

As much as we enjoy the lazy days of summer, we all know how important routines are for our children and for ourselves. Without routines, we bob from one thing to the next, like tubing down a river in the hot summer sun, directionless, spinning and swirling, at the mercy and whim of the current.

One of the routines that is easy to get out of is that of doing devotions with our children. Of reading Scripture with them and talking about what it means. Of theological instruction. Parents are a child's first and primary teacher and disciple-maker. Sadly, much of our disciple making gets set aside for the more urgent tasks of getting ready for school, homework, and driving to lessons and practices.

The truth is, we all have enough time in our day to spend doing devotions with our children. Some families might choose breakfast as their time, others might do it after dinner, and still others mind find bedtime to work best for them. Whenever you schedule it and however short or long you make it, make it part of your routine. While many other things we do with our children have temporary benefits, investing in their hearts has eternal significance. 

If you are looking for devotional resources to use with your children this new school year, here are a few of our favorites:

Training Hearts, Teaching Minds: Family Devotions Based on the Shorter Catechism

This is one we've used over and over and so often that the cover is bent and folded back! Each week there is a question from the Westminster Confession Shorter Catechism and throughout the week, the devotions explain the question and provide verses to look up and read. The author also has a similar devotional based on the Heidelberg Catechism. Age range: elementary to middle school, possibly even older.

The Ology: Ancient Truths, Ever New

This is a picture book that has short sections explaining theological concepts. Age range: elementary school.

Wise Up: Ten-Minute Family Devotions in Proverbs

This is a Christ centered devotional based on Proverbs that helps children understand specific proverbs but also how Christ is the only Wise One. Age range: elementary to middle school.

God's Names (Making Him Known) (Children Desiring God)

There are multiple books in this series. This one is a study on the names of God. Each chapter is only a few pages long and contains illustrations. It includes discussion questions and activities. Age range: elementary school

My ABC Bible Verses: Hiding God's Word in Little Hearts

This is one of the first devotionals we ever used. It has a Bible verse for each letter of the alphabet and an accompanying story about a child learning lessons about God and his word. There is a separate coloring book and curriculum we used as well. Age range: preschool to early elementary.

Big Beliefs!: Small Devotionals Introducing Your Family to Big Truths

This is one we are currently using. It goes through sections of the Westminster Confession and unpacks different theological concepts. The devotions are brief and include a passage of Scripture to read as well as discussion questions. Age range: upper elementary, middle, and even high school.

The Radical Book for Kids: Exploring the Roots and Shoots of Faith

I shared about this book a few months ago but because I love it so much, I wanted to share about it again. It's not a traditional devotional but we used it during our morning devotions. Each chapter focuses on a different aspect of Christianity and explains the faith using engaging graphics and illustrations. It includes sections not only on the gospel and specific theological terms but also Biblical history, missionaries, and my favorite—why children should clean their rooms. Age range: I read this to my elementary and middle school children.

Discovering Jesus in Genesis (Covenant Promises for Covenant Kids)

We used this book, as well as the one on Exodus, when the kids were younger. Each chapter is a story about three children and lessons they learn about God, his word, and his covenant with his people, as they spend time with a neighbor who teaches them about the book of Genesis. The children in the story apply what they've learned to daily struggles in their lives. There are discussion questions at the end of each story. Age range: Great for early elementary.

Grandpa's Box: Retelling the Biblical Story of Redemption

This is an old favorite of ours and one we did more than once. A grandfather has a box filled with little wooden figures he has carved. Each figure represents a story in the Bible. Each time his grandchildren come to visit him, he takes out a wooden figure and tells the story from the Bible it represents, helping the children see how each story fits into the bigger story of redemption. Age range: For use with elementary to possibly middle school.

One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters: 365 Opportunities to Grow Closer to God as a Family

This is a devotional by Nancy Guthrie. If your children are beyond picture books and needing illustrations to look at, this is a great resource for devotions and for engaging in discussion with your children. Age range: middle and high school.

Note: I am a member of the Amazon Affiliates program and links to books in this post are connected to my affiliates account with Amazon.com. 

Praying for the Hearts of Our Children

From the moment I first learned I was expecting, I started praying for my child. And I haven't stopped since. 

When my boys were young, to be honest, many prayers centered on me—my strength and endurance to make it through the day in once piece. Motherhood was especially hard then; the cloud of depression darkened my days. I always felt insufficient, weak, and helpless as a mom. More often than not, my prayer set on repeat was, "Help me, Lord!"

Through the years, I've prayed about many things for my children. They were chronically sick for a long time and I prayed repeatedly for healing. I've also prayed for their behavior, their friendships with other children, their education, for our relationship as a family, and even for their future jobs, spouses, and children.

But above all, the prayer I keep coming back to time and time again is a prayer for their heart. The status of their heart before God, their salvation, what they believe about Christ, and the work God is doing in them is the prayer that supersedes all other prayers I may have for them.

The Heart of the Matter

Why the heart? Because the heart is the core of who we are. When the Bible talks about the human heart, it doesn’t mean our real heart— the one that beats in our chest and keeps our body alive. It also isn’t referring to the heart shaped candies or chocolates we give those we love on Valentine’s Day. The Bible uses the term ‘heart’ to mean our inner self, who we are as a person, our identity. The real us. This inner self includes our thoughts, our desires, our feelings, our personality, our motives and intentions, and the choices we make. “As in water face reflects face, so the heart of man reflects the man” (Proverbs 27:19). “Watch over your heart with all diligence, for from it flow the springs of life” (Proverbs 4:23). 

Because we are sinners, our hearts are prone to sin. What we need is a new heart. God promised this in the book of Ezekiel: “And I will give them one heart, and a new spirit I will put within them. I will remove the heart of stone from their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my rules and obey them. And they shall be my people, and I will be their God” (Ezekiel 11:19-20). This is what the Spirit does in us when He awakens our dead heart to life. He gives us a new heart, a heart capable of responding to God in faith and living to love and obey God. Theologians call this awakening ‘regeneration.’ “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ” (Ephesians 2:4-5).

The truth is, the heart of the matter is the heart. What our children need most is a new heart. They need the Spirit to bring them from death to life. They need the Spirit to work in them, sanctifying and transforming them into the likeness of Christ. So even as I pray about other things for my children—friendships, education, behavior, etc.—those things are ultimately about the heart as well. For as God transforms and changes their hearts through the work of the Spirit, it changes how they choose friendships, their attitude toward school, and their outward behavior.   

From the Prayers of Paul

I've learned this lesson about praying for heart matters from the Apostle Paul. He wrote letters to various churches. Some were struggling with real trials, hardships, even persecution. In those letters, he mentions the prayers he is praying for them. He doesn't mention praying for their physical and temporal needs—though he may have done so. (Jesus taught us to pray for our daily needs in Matthew 6:11). The prayers he prayed for them were not focused on the temporary but on the eternal. He prayed for their hearts, for God's work in them, for their growth in faith. He prayed for the work of the Kingdom and the spread of the gospel through them. He prayed for their spiritual strength and endurance and encouraged them with the hope they had in Christ. 

When I consider praying for the hearts of my children, Paul's prayers are an excellent model for doing so. If you desire for God to work in the heart of your child, consider praying the prayers of Paul.

Here are a few of them:

From Ephesians 1:16-20:

"I do not cease to give thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers, that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of him, having the eyes of your hearts enlightened, that you may know what is the hope to which he has called you, what are the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, and what is the immeasurable greatness of his power toward us who believe, according to the working of his great might that he worked in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly places."

From Ephesians 3:13-19:

"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."

From Philippians 1:9-11:

"And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God."

From Colossians 1:9-12:

"We have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light."

From 2 Thessalonians 1:11-12:

"To this end we always pray for you, that our God may make you worthy of his calling and may fulfill every resolve for good and every work of faith by his power, so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ."

All that our children are flows from their heart, so whatever it is we pray for them, may we never fail to pray for their hearts. 

When We Pray With Our Children

From a young age, children mimic those around them. They hold pretend phones up to their ears and carry on one-way conversations. They play dress-up and pretend to take their stuffed animal’s temperature, fight a fire, or cook a meal. Sometimes, they even take on a parental tone of voice, shake their finger, and correct the family pet.

This tendency to mimic others is seen in spiritual areas as well. Children learn from us how to pray by watching and listening to us pray. They fold their hands like we do. They say “Amen” at the end of prayers along with us. They learn quickly to ask God for help, healing, and provision. Because children learn by watching us, we can use prayer time to disciple our children in the faith. As we pray for meals, skinned knees, and discipline issues, we can be intentional in the words we use to teach our children more about God, who He is, and what He has done for them in Christ. Our prayers can be theological lessons that reach the heart of our young listeners, training them in the gospel of grace...

To read the rest of this post, visit True Woman, my writing home today.

Screen Time Rules

In the corner of our garage sits a vintage tabletop Ms. Pacman video game, a relic of my husband’s childhood. Much has changed in technology since that time. Instead of Atari, we have Xbox and wiiu. Rather than just a desktop computer, most of us also have laptops and handheld devices. Long gone are rotary phones—remember those? Instead, we have smart phones that contain our bank, encyclopedia, security system, library, stereo, social networks, and calendar all wrapped up small enough to fit in our back pocket. Indeed, since the days of Pacman, technology has changed, so much so that it often seems our life is ruled by and shaped by it.

Children and Technology

Our children are growing up in a world where everything revolves around a screen. Children today spend at least seven hours a day staring at some kind of screen, be it a television, computer, or handheld device. While much of technology is helpful, useful, and important, there is also much that is concerning. Studies have found that overuse of technology can cause attention difficulties, obesity, irritability and behavior problems, learning challenges, and even addiction.

To read the rest of this post, visit For the Family, my writing home today.

A Mother's Peace

She meets each new day
as rays begin their streak across the morning sky.
Already weary from midnight risings
and drained from the long day before.

She starts her daily tasks
knowing they'll never be completed:
the laundry overflowing,
the dishes piled high,
the meals always needed,
the floors always spotted.

Pushing start on the coffee pot,
she hears the pitter patter of feet.
Voices raise to be heard,
questions,
expectations,
demands,
cries,
bombard her ears in rapid fire succession.

The day rushes past in a whirlwind
of tasks, duties, and responsibilities
She referees squabbles,
teaches manners,
feeds bellies,
cleans up spills,
runs errands,
instructs minds,
kisses wounds.

She lies down at night with a deep sigh
knowing tomorrow's a repeat of today.
Wondering what she accomplished
and what surprises await the next sunrise...

To read the rest of this post, visit Engaging Motherhood. 

Reading About the Lives of Missionaries

Our kids’ favorite part of the day is story time. At the end of a long day, we all gather, and I read to them. Even my oldest, who’s almost in middle school, looks forward to it. We’ve read a variety of books over the years, from mysteries to fantasies to literary classics. Favorites have included The Hobbit, King Arthur, Farmer Boy, and the The Hardy Boys.

One evening, I was reading a different genre than usual. As I neared the end of the book, my eyes started to burn. I blinked and my vision blurred. Before I knew it, tears were streaming down my face. This was unusual for story time. I turned to my son, handed him the book, and whispered, “Can you finish, please?”

He took over reading for me while I sat there in tears. We were reading a biography of Nate Saint.

Saint was a mid-20th century missionary in Ecuador to the Auca Indians. He and four others (including Jim Elliot) were martyred by those they came to serve. Yet this didn’t stop God’s redeeming work. In time, many in the village came to embrace Christ, including the six who killed the missionaries.

Reading a missionary biography, like that of Nate Saint, might not be your first choice since such stories are often filled with heartache and hardship. But I encourage you to consider reading them to your kids for five reasons...to read the rest of this post, visit The Gospel Coalition.