
As summer quickly approaches, I thought I’d re-share this popular post about how I help my kids spend time with God in the mornings. I hope you enjoy these ideas and if you create a #hellomornings basket for your children, tag me on instagram (inspiredtoaction) or share the link in the comments so I can “ohh and ahh” along with you.
Breakfast Time In My Home
This is the basket we keep on our breakfast table. It’s filled with Bibles, study books, journals, prayers sticks and conversation cards. Each morning at breakfast time, the kids eagerly sit down with their food, grab a Bible, a prayer stick and peacefully read and pray for 45 minutes.
Or not.
Maybe your kids do that, but in my house our mornings are a little more crazy (although it’s less crazy during the summer). My children are often reading other books as they sit down at the table. Imagine those kids that walk around with a book in their face as they attempt go about their day. That’s what 2/3 my children look like 95% of the time.
My other child is usually climbing on something. Possibly a sibling.
So now that we’ve established that there is nothing magical about my home, let’s move on to the topic of bribery.
How To Bribe Your Children
During the school year when the crazy is kicked up a notch, I often bribe my kids with hot chocolate to get them the table early enough to eat, read and pray.
That may sound awful or brilliant, but either way, it works like a charm.
Being that I’m pretty picky about sweets, my children get really excited about the hot cocoa and hurry through their morning routine to get to the table. They then sit down to have their “God Time” while they eat.
I like to think I’m creating really sweet memories (pun alert) for my children of the preciousness of early morning time with God.
What a better way to wake up than to a steaming cup of cocoa, a cozy mama hug and time with God?
The Nitty Gritty: So What’s In The Basket?
When I posted the picture of our basket on Instagram and Facebook yesterday, there were lots of questions about what is in the basket, so here is the basic run down of what is usually in there:
Jesus Calling – This is my youngest daughter’s favorite devotional.
One Year Devotions for Preschoolers – my kids have all really liked this book. It has a devotion, scripture passage and prayer for each day. When they were little, the loved the cute pictures and the rhyming prayers.
The Adventure Bible – This is a great kids study Bible. The format is incredibly fun for young readers and yet all the content is there – it’s the real Bible and not just a story Bible.
24 Family Ways – this is a wonderful family devotional from Sally and Clay Clarkson.
Sword Fighting – This is a kids devotional book by Karen Henley that was highly recommended to me. I don’t think it’s in print anymore, but you can find used copies on Amazon.
Resources from our church – we have an amazing church and they provide great resources for family and kids devotions, so we use those a lot as well. If your church doesn’t already provide that for kids, perhaps that’s something you could spearhead.
Prayer sticks – these are simply large popsicle sticks that the kids wrote on and decorated. They have the names of family and friends, our Compassion kids, leaders and various prayer topics. My children pull one or two out and pray for whatever is on the stick.
Perfection Isn’t The Goal, Faithfulness Is.
There are precious moments when my children share Bible verses that they feel God put on their heart that morning. Or funny times like when my youngest declared, “Mama! I’m gonna write a thank you note to Jesus! ….for pigs!”
Just as often, though, the kids rush through to get back to their American Girl book or to play a game of Angry Birds.
Perfection isn’t the goal. Faithfulness is.
As we make these morning times a routine, I’m praying and trusting that God is sowing truth, love and hope into their hearts.
What ideas, books and resources have you used to help your kids develop a habit of spending time with God? Click here to share your thoughts!
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links.