Emily burned down the house.

Advent family devotions are my favorite 25 nights of the year. With teenagers these days, things do look different than they did when the girls were little. I wanted to reshare a piece I wrote when our youngest was 4. Family devotions are not always easy – some years they feel downright dangerous. Young mommas, I hope this encourages you. Keep going friends!

Emily Burned Down the House – originally shared Dec 2010.

We have a Christmas memory book where I write down the best memories of that year’s Christmas season.  Each year I am sure that this will be the year I write…

Emily burned down the house.

Each December we change up our family devotions by doing them at night around an Advent wreath.  We light the candles… and EVERY night Emily is a little moth getting closer, and closer … so very close to the flame.  Most nights I’m sure she’s going to topple the candles over and burn the house down.   There have been many close calls, and a whole lot of spilled wax.   

I think, “Why can’t this simple thing be easy!”

No matter the season that’s how it goes with family devotions.  If you make the radical choice to be super weird and teach your children the Bible, it’s not going to be easy.  There are no Norman Rockwell night.  (If there are at your house, please don’t tell me. I can’t handle it.)  Things go wrong when you try to have family devotions… the dog barks non-stop, drinks get spilled, the phone rings 7 times, parents cry.  Why?  The enemy doesn’t want you to do this one very powerful thing…

Open the Bible and read it to your children.

It seems like you’re doing this simple thing and so it should be easy.  But you’re not doing something simple, and so it’s not going to be easy. 

When you open the Bible with your kids…

…you give the church a future.

…you plants seeds for the third and fourth generation. 

…you train an army for the Lord. 

 You may appear to be doing something simple, but you’re actually doing something remarkable.  

This morning was the second day of school.  I forgot to set my alarm.  (On the second day!)  We ran around rushed, and late, and disorganized but Pete herded us to the kitchen table and he opened the Bible.   As he read the Word of God over our girls, I was reminded yet again that training them for the Lord is never going to be easy.   We may have rushed mornings, spilt cereal, and come December more close calls with candles, but what we’ll have done with our girls will have had eternal impact – and that’s a pretty good trade.  

Looking for a devotion idea for this school year? Head to my resource link and download a free school year reading plan.