The Difficulties of Family Worship

Last year, my wife and I had a conversation with our pastor and his wife concerning doing devotions with our children. I confessed that I was really having a tough time with getting to get the kids to pay attention. Noticing that they had successfully reared godly children, we asked how they did family devotions. I was somewhat surprised to hear how difficult it had been for them too. I was relieved. Up until recently, family devotions has been a nightmare. It seemed that they related devotions with bedtime. They knew that once I started reading a Bible story, that the end was coming and they were having to go to bed. So, I'm not sure if it was bed they were protesting to or the devotions time. Anyway, I sadly confess there have been times where I've gone weeks without doing anything. I'm so sad to admit this. I totally failed in leading my family spiritually. This is a lousy excuse, but sometimes it just seemed more stressful than it was worth. Yeah, that's a terrible excuse. Anyway, things have changed over the last few weeks. I'm not sure why, but there are a few things we are doing differently and we have implemented some very helpful resources. The kids still whine some but things have become much more manageable. So, for you dads out there that struggle with this, you aren't alone. But I want you to know that this is still something we must take a hold of and do for our children. In the coming weeks, I'll be sharing some more thoughts and ideas on how to lead our family in a special worship time on a regular basis.