JESUS IN THE DRIVE THRU

Does anyone out there do a regular family worship? We did off and on when the boys were young. I’ll admit-as they got older and into more activities, it got harder to schedule it. We tried to have a regular time of Bible reading and discussion of what was read, but we failed quite miserably. I think it had everything to do with failing to make family worship a joy instead of a chore.

Family worship can take many shapes and forms. We were not a singing family so we didn’t sing hymns. But I do know families that incorporate singing and even playing instruments into their family worship. Our family unfortunately was not that talented. Or inclined. My oldest actually got very good at lip synching when he was forced to take choir through eighth grade. I thought he might have a future in pop stardom at one time. And once again I got off topic.

Family worship, along with any worship, should be a joy and not a chore. The key is to find what works for your family. What does your family enjoy doing together during worship service? What does each family member enjoy about church and Sunday School?

My friend Sarah felt extreme guilt over not conducting regular family worship in her home. So she posed some questions to her family in hopes of reworking their worship time and getting it back on track.

Her kids are young and love to sing. Sarah made a note that they would keep singing as part of their family worship. Her daughter loved coloring a picture with each Sunday School lesson. Sarah made a note. Her son liked snack time. Sarah made a note, but wasn’t sure what to do with that. For Sarah, she loved the feeling of them all being together and growing their knowledge of the Bible. So Sarah made a note.

Then Sarah took all her notes and began to pray about them. She knew their mornings were always rushed, and it was hard to make time for one more thing. Their evenings weren’t consistent, as the kids had more homework now and her son was playing T-ball. Sarah kept praying as she analyzed their daily routines. The problem seemed to be each day was not consistent.

Sarah kept praying and it finally hit her: everyone was in the car together at least once a day. It wasn’t the same time every day, or the same destination. But they all spent at least 15 minutes in the car together every day. She could work with that!

Sarah purchased a CD with Bible lessons on it to listen to in the car. They spent three to five minutes listening to the lesson, then spent the rest of the time discussing it. Sarah also found during dinner when discussing their day, the kids would manage to bring up the lesson they had discussed in the car, adding more of their thoughts and ideas that had occurred to them since the initial discussion. Sarah also added singing to dinner time, no matter if it was in the car on the way to T-ball practice or actually managing to sit down at the table. As for her daughter’s love of coloring pictures, Sarah would find a quick few minutes at work to Google the Bible lesson and print off a coloring page. They kept a box of crayons in the car.

For Sarah and her kids, this solution worked well-it just took asking the right questions and praying for the Holy Spirit to help her find a workable solution.

I think there is a lesson to be learned in everything. I wish I had been this smart when my kids were young. I couldn’t seem to think outside the box. But I hope Sarah’s story inspires others.

Please comment and let me know how you handle your family worship-what works for you and what hasn’t? Be sure and let me know.