Family Altar

We've been more consistent with our family Bible time this year and the kids are loving it. If we miss a night, Matt and I definitely hear about it.

We've used this time in the evenings to worship, to train and to settle down from the day's activities. I bought a couple of candles at the thrift store that sit on our fireplace mantle. Daddy lights the candles at the beginning of our family devotion time and then the kids take turns snuffing out the candles when we're finished.
Matt has been working diligently to get the littles to sit still during this time (although we're still in process). This has translated to better behavior during church on Sundays.

We have acquired a number of hymnals from yard sales and our church (when the congregation replaced the old hymnals with new ones). One of the kids passes every member of the family a hymnal at the beginning of our family worship time. Daddy takes requests and we sing a few hymns to get started. Then Daddy reads from the Bible and asks the kids a few questions about what he's just read. We then end with a hymn and a prayer. It's all pretty simple and takes between ten and thirty minutes depending on the night and how crabby people are.

We've had a tough time forming a habit of family Bible time over the years. We've been pretty inconsistent, mostly due to being too tired and not making the proper effort. This year we're trying to make devotion time a non-negotiable. Invariably this means that Matt and I have to put off something we feel we should do (i.e.--laundry, etc.) to make sure that we're doing what is needful by nourishing our family with God's Word.

"The unfolding of your words gives light; it imparts understanding to the simple."
Psalm 119:130