Create a Rhythm - When You Lie Down

So here we are on day four of our journey through this verse from Deuteronomy 6:7. We have been thinking about creating a rhythm in our families and today I want to challenge you to think about ONE THING that you can do at bedtime that will help you become more intentional about impressing on your children the laws of God.

Most households have a routine that they try to follow at bedtime. For us, we have a routine that typically takes about 30-40 minutes. That may sound like a lot for some of you, but that is our rhythm - you need to find your own. For us, our intentional impressing does not need to wait until we are tucked up in bed - we look at how we can use the time between dinner and bed time as a way to develop greater family connection. We do not try to do this every day, but most days we will ask the girls if they want to play a game or maybe do family movie night. The games we play range from Candyland, to card games to Break the Ice (last night). Family movie night is not as grand as it sounds, it is basically a 30 minute time block when we sit down as a family and watch a TV program together. For those who are on cable or FIOS then check out the Christian TV channels and especially some of the kids shows that are on between 6 and 7pm. The quality of production may not be what you want to see, but your kids will learn so much from the truth that is repeated on these shows.

After that it is upstairs for the typical  teeth brushing and bathroom visits before we hop on one of the girl's beds to read a book or two. We spend some time in prayer for the things/people that we have interacted with earlier that day and thank God for whatever comes to mind. We spend a few moments praying with each of our kids before kissing them good night and heading downstairs to collapse on the sofa.

It has been interesting to me over the past few weeks as I have thought about this verse that it says 'as you lie down...' This has been especially interesting because recently our little one has asked either her mom or I to lie down beside her for a few moments as she settles for sleep. It is as if she just loves the proximity and safety that she feels with one of her parents lying beside her. We oblige, and there have even been occasions where an hour or so later we wake up from that position and go downstairs. How precious it is though that our daughter wants us to be close to her and to spend those moments with her. What greater expression of love is there than to just lay down and be there. TV shows can wait, new series premieres are nowhere near as important as those precious moments. Do not miss them.


For a long time our girls just wanted Julie to put them to bed. I sat downstairs, usually online, and wondered why it took her so long. I mean, how long does it take to read a story, kiss them on the forehead and walk out of the room? I realized one day that the investment that Julie was making in our girls was an invaluable one that would come back to bless her with many fold. As for me - I was too pre-occupied with my bowl of lentils (see Genesis 25:29-34) to see what I was missing. Last night, I lay down beside both of my princesses for a while. I want them to know that their daddy is right there, present, there for them. Always.

What ONE THING will you add or change about your bedtime routine to intentionally pour into your kids?