In a day where we have subscription boxes and activity kits for anything and everything you can think of, — family devotions included — I’m to the point where I think less is more. These tools can be helpful, but they can also be a hangup.
I don’t know about you, but I don’t need anything making it harder to establish and maintain a regular devotion time with my family.
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Some devotional resources can make it harder to include family devotions in your day-to-day life because they make them a chore, they make those devotions something that has to be arranged and organized. That’s not always bad, but my tendency is to be more faithful to reading God’s Word when it’s not a big ordeal.
Instead, I prefer easy, no hassle ideas for including family devotions on a daily basis. I’m way more likely to include devotions regularly if I don’t have a list of things to prepare in order to make them happen. Today I’m sharing some of the ones that work best for our family.
Easy Ideas for Adding Family
Devotions to Your Daily Routine
Family Devotions: The What
Many of us want to lead our families in devotional time each day, but don’t know where to start. My first recommendation is to select devotional plans from the Kids & Family section on The Bible App.
This is a great option for devotions because the plans are free and there are tons of great choices. You can search for plans that cover specific topics and seasons, as well as plans that are aimed at specific ages from kids to teens. Better yet, reading plans are added regularly, so there’s always a new family devotion at your fingertips!
Prefer some non-digital guidance for your family devotion time? Here are some great book options to consider:
- The Bible Is My Best Friend Family Devotional
- A Spoonful of Grace
- The One Year Book of Josh McDowell’s Family Devotions
- One Year of Dinner Table Devotions and Discussion Starters
- Whit’s End Mealtime Devotions
- Long Story Short: Ten Minute Devotions to Draw Your Family to God
- Every Day with God: 365 Daily Devos for Girls
- Every Day with God: 365 Daily Devos for Boys
There are lots more to choose from, but the above list is a good place to start. Each of these books contains a devotional reading with scripture, commentary, and summary of main points. It’s an easy formula to follow, which makes it even easier to add them to your family’s daily routine.
Family Devotions: The When
Deciding when to do devotions with your family isn’t quite as daunting as mapping out how to do them. Of course, the best times will vary with each family and each season of life, but here are some ideas to consider.
1. Meals
It shouldn’t be too surprising that I’d suggest your dining table as a central hub for family devotions, but working them into our meal times has been the easiest way for us to be sure we don’t miss them. We may have hectic schedules from time to time, but we know that we can rely on dinner together unless something unusual comes up.
2. Bedtime
If mealtimes seem too scattered and messy for family devotions, bedtime is another good option. Here’s the thing. Bedtime happens regardless of how crazy the rest of the day might be. That’s why it’s a great candidate for daily devotions.
Devotions can happen in the family room after kids get ready for bed or bedside before tuck-in time. Either way, bedtime is an easy way to establish devotions simply because of the consistency it offers.
3. Morning Time
This Morning Time idea is pretty feasible for homeschool families because it allows family devotions to happen at the beginning of the school day.
After all, regardless of how crazy a homeschool day can get, it has to start at some point each day. By adding family devotions to the morning routine, you can easily ensure they don’t slip through the cracks when life gets busy.
My hope is that these easy ideas have shown you or perhaps reminded you that family devotions don’t have to be complicated or lengthy. The key is simply creating a plan and sticking to it.
Do you have ideas or tips for daily devotions with your family? Share them in the comments below so we can all learn from one another!
Want more information on some devotional resources? Here are a few posts to check out: