Two Tips #1
4 Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. 6 And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. 7 You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. 8 You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. 9 You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates. –Deuteronomy 6:4-9
Leading our families in worship can be intimidating. But the reward is worth the effort. Deuteronomy 6:4-9 connects the way we teach our children to our own love for God. It also instructs us to weave our teaching into our lives, so that it infuses whatever we’re doing, whether we’re sitting, walking, or lying down. The instruction to write God’s instructions on doorposts and gates is an encouragement to be intentional about reminding ourselves and our families of God’s instructions. Each month, we provide you with two tips for developing your personal and family discipleship from dads who, like you, are taking on the challenge of investing spiritually in their families.
Tip #1 for Personal Devotion
Scripture before phone
In The Common Rule: Habits of Purpose for an Age of Distraction, Justin Whitmel Early guides readers through the development of habits that can ward off the creeping invasion of distraction, stress, and self-reliance into our lives. By putting limits on our behavior, we can gain new freedom to invest in our personal spiritual growth, which is foundational for our spiritual leadership in our homes. One of the simplest “rules” Early suggests is “Scripture before phone.” By putting your priorities in order as the first act of the day, you set the stage for a day oriented toward what is most important–your relationship with the Lord–rather than the false urgency of the news cycle or your Twitter feed. Even work emails can wait. We often have an overinflated view of how important our immediate responses are.
Tip #2 for Family Discipleship
Daily dinner-table discussions
Every night, for five or ten minutes at the dinner table, we go through Long Story Short. It’s a great book that is pretty much turnkey. It goes through the Bible chronologically and has questions for me to ask my kids.
Do: Involve your wife. My wife has been great in coaching me when things start to feel more like a classroom and less like a family dinner. So it's essential to have her read and lead these devotions regularly. We want our kids to see that we both are united in that we are equally as passionate about the Word and application.
Don’t: Don’t beat yourself up when you miss one. I bet I only make 4-5 per week, which means I'm only batting 60-70%. That’s ok. Sometimes a family dinner should just involve talking about how everyone’s day went. You have to find a rhythm that fits your family. The consistency is the important thing, even if it’s just two or three times a week.
