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Read & Sing & Pray

“It’s time to get ready for bed!”

This evokes a visceral response from our two-year-old son that causes him to immediately run to the other side of the house.  Our four-year-old daughter is more familiar with the nightly routine. She gets in her PJ’s, brushes her teeth, and then makes her way to the large rocking chair in her bedroom. Meanwhile we wrestle our son through the same routine and then make our way to our daughter’s room.

We are met with the sound of our golden retriever gnawing away at a bone by the dresser who, being aware of the family routine, doesn’t even pause to acknowledge our arrival.  Our daughter has already gathered materials for family worship (she is a wonderful helper) and asks me, “Whose Bible are we using tonight?” as she edges her Jesus Storybook Bible towards my hand. “We are going to use Daddy’s Bible tonight,” I reply and smile to acknowledge her hint of disappointment. “Do you remember what book of the Bible we are in?” “MARK!” she yells with enthusiasm.

I take my old study Bible in hand and make my way to the large rocking chair. Our daughter asks me to steady the ottoman so she can perform her nightly acrobatics jumping from it on to my lap. My wife sits down on the ottoman and places our son on my other knee. I open the Bible and begin to read a nine verse section of Mark chapter one.  Two verses in, my son begins to wiggle down to the floor. My wife reminds him he is to stay with the family and he elects to climb into the day bed next to the rocking chair. I finish the Bible reading and then my wife and I do our best to help our little ones engage with the story.

Sensing the scripture time is drawing to a close our daughter grabs the hymnal and hands it to my wife. “I want mom to pick a song!” We sing a familiar hymn, a verse of a hymn we are learning followed by the chorus of a praise song that I know we will be singing at church on Sunday.  While we sing, our two year old occasionally chimes in loudly with a single repeated word and our daughter is compelled to dance around the room. It’s my second favorite part of the evening.

Our son is now pushing up against his limits. Eventually we will be able to pray together as a family, but for the time being my wife scoops him up and after helping him say his goodnights carries him down the hall to his room. I help our daughter to (literally) hop into bed, tuck her in, turn out the lights, and then sit on the ottoman by her bedside. First, I ask her to think through her day and pick out a highlight then I help her thank her Heavenly Father for that joy. Then I ask her how I can be praying for her and I pray for whatever comes to her mind followed by a blessing. She then proceeds to ask all her typical questions in hopes of delaying the inevitable bedtime to which I reply with a big hug and a kiss on her forehead.  After reminding her that her mom will be in shortly I escort the dog out of the room, crack the door and wander down the hall.

Now for my favorite part of the evening. Sometimes our son needs additional time to settle down so my wife sings him to sleep. There have been nights where I have quietly wept outside his door, listening to the lovely voice of my wife sing treasured hymns like “Great is Thy Faithfulness” to our son. What a blessing to my soul!

We aren’t always consistent, and it doesn’t always go smoothly. We know it isn’t a guarantee, a formula to save our children. But what we do know is that it brings us together as a family and that it communicates what is most important in our home. We are thankful for the example our own parents set before us, and pray that God will give us wisdom to do the same for our children.

Grace and Peace,

Jimmy

Jimmy Wood

Elder
Jimmy has been at Grace since 2004, and became an elder in 2014. He has degrees in engineering from...

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