As the New School Year Begins...

School is staring, y'all!  I can't believe Joel and I have a SENIOR in High School, a sophomore and two 1st graders!  This year is going to be so exciting!  As the new year begins so does routine, structure, early bedtimes (yay!) and early mornings (boo).  Throughout the summer we have consistently brought Jesus into our lives through our daily dialogues but, I must admit, we haven't been doing our typical Bible devotion as we did last year.  I'm excited to begin it again.

Here's how we do it:

• 6 a.m. I wake up (I noticed last year I was so much nicer to my kiddos in the morning if I had already been up, got myself ready, had coffee and read a little in my own Bible!)
• 6:30 a.m. Wake up "the littles"
• 6:40 a.m. Downstairs for breakfast.  After breakfast is on the table we did  our bible study while they ate.  (The study took ~7 minutes including pray!)
• 7:00 a.m. (Yes, it took at least 20 minutes for my kids to eat breakfast!!) Get dressed, brush teeth, backpacks ready, etc.
• 7:10 - 7:15 a.m. Out the door to walk to school.  (This was my saving grace last year.  If we'd had a rough morning the walk to school was our time to regroup, energize and get back onto a happy path for the rest of the day... To say this was my favorite part of the day would be an understatement! So much dialogue and joy during our walks!  Picking them up is a close 2nd!)

Devotions can be intimidating for some parents.  Remember, it doesn't have to last long.  You just want your children to begin the habit of talking and praying to God as they begin each day.  Our oldest son Drew does a devotion in the morning on his phone.  He got in the habit and continues it because he was taught it was an important thing to do.  I love that he does it on his own now!  And, occasionally he'll bring me into the conversation with observations and questions!  Praise the Lord! Do you have a children's Bible?  Use that at first!  Read the story and say a prayer.  Our little ones learn so much from repetition!

This is what we used last year:
"Growing with Jesus" by Andy Holmes (click on each title to go to amazon for more info)
I liked this one because it was short and sweet and had 100 devotions all packed in the same book.  It also allows for practical application throughout our lives (I took something away from each day too!) [I have copies of this at church - let me know if you'd like one!]
"The Story For Little Ones" by Max Lucado
This one was a good start for children to learn favorite bible stories.  The illustrations are amazing too!

This year I plan on using:
"Five Minute Devotions for Children" by Pamela Kennedy
This one goes a little more in depth by giving a story and having questions for children to answer about their own life!
"Bible Devotions for Bedtime" by Daniel Partner
Even though this is a bedtime book it's still a great devotion to do together!  It has a short story then prayer to begin the day.

Do you have a favorite devotion you do with your children?  Share it with me!