CPR for Family Devotions
Theme of the Week: Family Glue
Jim Burns
Wednesday, December 8, 2004
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Key Bible Verse: We will not hide these truths from our children but will tell the next generation… (Psalm 78:4). Bonus Reading: Psalm 78:1—8
To launch devotional times, Cathy and I corralled our young girls and I read a brief Scripture and a story I'd written. Halfway through, two began arguing, and Heidi fell asleep. I gave up!
"What you read is great for teens," Cathy observed, "but not interactive enough for our girls. They're just bored."
"So what would you do?"
"Well, I'll try,'" Cathy replied. Then she announced, "Tonight, you pick out a Bible story, rehearse it, and act it out." The girls' eyes lit up.
Christy opened her Bible storybook at the front. "Let's do this one. I want to be Eve." So did the others. No one wanted to be Adam.
"You're oldest," I told Christy, "so you're Adam. Rebecca, you be Eve. Heidi, you're Evette, Eve's little sister." I was the snake. The girls rehearsed in our bedroom then paraded back—Christy wearing my Hawaiian shirt, a baseball cap, and painted mustache; Heidi wearing a hula outfit; six-year-old Rebecca, as Eve, wearing—nothing! The play was a success.
Now that our girls are teens, we don't do plays; but our devotionals are still interactive. Kids learn best when they talk. They support what they help create.
—Jim Burns in The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family
My Response: To spare our family devotionals from becoming a drudgery …
Thought to Apply: It shouldn't disturb you that your children pray for the bicycle, the dog. They need to pray at the level of their understanding.
—HOWARD HENDRICKS
Adapted from The 10 Building Blocks for a Happy Family (Regal, 2003) by permission.
Copyright © 2004 Christianity Today. Click
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Lord, help me make my home a spiritual equipping center for each family member.
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