Splink | Honoring God With Our Time

Splink 1:

Every Day Counts

Keep a family time log for a couple of days. (Each person could have a different color marker to record activities.)

(Note to parents: This can be revealing for us as well! Don’t be afraid to admit your own failings to your kids. One of the best ways to teach our kids is to model good things and when we fail, admit it and change.)

Look at the time log together and ask:
What is the one thing you spent most of your free time doing?

God knows we have school and work and He doesn’t expect us to pray 24/7, but did you set aside some time each day to pray and read your Bible?

Splink 2:

Want to Get Stronger?

When Daniel was just a young man, he decided to put God first. Every day, he prayed three times a day (and probably more). Daniel was a very important man and probably had many responsibilities, but he made praying his priority. A priority is something that is very important to you. Even when the king made a law saying no one could pray, what did Daniel do? (He prayed every day like he had done before the law.) Daniel put God first and God gave him the strength to do what was right even when faced with the threat of being placed in a lion’s den!

One of the best ways to help your kids get stronger in their faith is to help them get into the habit of having a “quiet time” each day where they read the Bible and pray. Give them a good devotional book and/or read the Bible together as a family. D6 prints devotional guides based on the weekly Bible theme for every age group. For more info, go to https://store.randallhouse.com/, click on your child’s age group and order.

One night a week ask everyone to bring their devotional magazine to the dinner table and discuss what they’re learning. Some questions to ask:

• Share something you read and liked.
• What have you learned about God this week?
• What can you do to show God love?
• How can something you read help you?

Splink 3:

Best Day of the Week

One of the best ways to honor God with our time is to honor His day and worship together EVERY week at church. Make Sunday the most important day of the week.

Some suggestions:

• One family had a “Sunday Suitcase.” Each week, the parents would put something inside the suitcase to be opened after church that they could all do together. If there was a set of keys, it meant they would go for a drive. If there was a game, they would all play it together. If there was a video, they would all watch it together.
• Another family had “Sunday toys”—special, fun toys that they played with ONLY on Sunday. The kids looked forward to getting out the box of special toys each Sunday, and then it was put away until the next Sunday.
• Serve others together—make cookies to share with a neighbor or make cards to give to nursing home residents.
• If everyone is ready and in the car by a certain time, stop for a treat on the way to church.