Transitions are windows of opportunity, chances to start new habits or create new traditions. While your kids are establishing a new routine, you have an opportunity to inject spiritual life into their--and your own--daily and weekly schedule. Here are few ideas to start a new spiritual tradition in your household next week:
- Share a brief devotional or spiritual thought at the breakfast table. If everyone doesn't eat breakfast together, leave it as a personal note on the table for each person. It will make a big impression on your kids, especially if you've never done anything like that before.
- Pray for your kids (out loud, with them) before they leave for school; pray specifically that they are aware of God and engage with Him in their school day.
- If your kids take lunches to school, leave a note and/or passage of scripture in their lunch.
- Share the family table--not just a meal, but time spent hearing about each person's day and their personal lives. In nationwide surveys, 90% of Americans say that dinner time is when family traditions are born; in contrast, children who don't eat dinner with their families are 60% more likely to engage in destructive behaviors (source: Kraft Foods, National Eat Dinner Together Week, National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse). IMPORTANT NOTE: turn off the TV during dinner!
- Pray with and for your children at night before they go to sleep.
Our first resource for parents (with much more to come) is the 10 Core Beliefs of Christianity, or the 10 Things I Know for grade school kids and younger (which include hand motions for memorability). Learning these is a great exercise that can give a plan and structure to your family spiritual habits. You can download them as part of my teaching on the Core Beliefs, which can be found in the news section of our website, www.cometothesprings.com. The pdf file includes printout sheets you can put on the refrigerator and memory cards you can tape on the fridge, the bathroom mirror, the car dashboard, etc.
National surveys of kids' beliefs reveal that 93% of American 13 year-olds consider themselves Christian, but only 3% actually have a biblical worldview that serves as a foundation for their decision-making (source: Barna Research Group). In effect, they call themselves Christians but they don't really know how to be one. Church involvement can help, but there is no substitute for the influence and training in spiritual life that comes from a kid's own family experience. We are committed to resourcing, helping, and challenging parents to be personally involved in their kid's spiritual development. For instance, at each of our Sunday services, children will be learning the same truths and principles as the adults, and helps will be available to facilitate family discussion on the topics after services. Beyond the obvious benefit to your kids, it may be the single greatest catalyst for your own spiritual growth.
The most significant aspect of every person's life is his or her spiritual health. A clear worldview, a moral compass, purpose and meaning in life--everything else flows from here. We invest so much in our children's development in other areas--it would be tragic to miss the most important one that gives meaning and focus to all the rest. Don't let this opportunity pass you by. It requires no training or experience or even the ability to answer all a kid's questions: just a willingness to engage in conversation with your kids that will help the whole family to grow. I hope you'll let me know how you choose to pursue it, and as always, I'm available to answer questions or provide help in any way I can. Here's to a great school year at Ross, Gilmore, Bauerschlag, Creekside, Victory Lakes, Dickinson schools and Clear Springs High--Go Chargers!
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