“These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts.  Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.” -- Deuteronomy 6:6-7

Spiritual conversations with our kids don’t have to be overthought and meticulously planned out. As mentioned in the previous post, life is busy! Sometimes, even the thought of adding an extra task to our busy schedules brings more anxiety than excitement. We become paralyzed by all the things we’re “supposed” to do. The good news is, having these important moments with our families doesn’t have to be difficult. We simply need to seize the moments in our normal, daily rhythms.

One of the easiest moments you can take advantage of is where your family probably spends a lot of time already...mealtimes. Your interactions in the kitchen, at the dinner table, and even during cleanup, provide the perfect opportunities to talk with your family; to share with them about God’s truth, and what He is doing in your life.

Here are a few discussion starters and activities you can try at your table…

1. Start with fun conversation starters. Here are a few suggestions the whole family can join in on: What was the best part of your day? If you could travel anywhere in the world, where would it be? If you could have a superpower, what would you have? Where have you seen God at work today? These conversations are always fun and can lead into moments in which you can easily impress God’s truth upon your kid’s hearts.

2. As mentioned before, don’t make this too complicated… just start! Let your kids in on what God has been speaking to you in your own devotional time. Was there something in scripture you read this morning you can share? What did it mean to you, and what can it mean for your family? It doesn’t matter how long the discussion is. The key here is you started. You seized a moment.

3. Make it interactive! Kids love to get involved in what they’re learning. After you’re done eating, read one of their favorite Bible stories, and then have them draw a picture of the story. Takes no longer than 5 minutes and can open some doors for sharing and discussion.

4. Make prayer cards to keep at your table. Grab some index cards and write down prayer requests you and your family may have. You can then review these requests each time you gather, and celebrate what God is doing when they’re answered! To keep it interactive, each child can be assigned a job. One can write the request, another can write “prayer answered”, etc.

5. Set the pace! Make sure you’re being positive and genuinely look forward to these moments with your family. With little ones, I know dinner time can test everyone’s patience, but don’t give up! All good habits take work to develop. Stay committed to making these table times purposeful and enjoyable. So, whatever it is you do or discuss, know that it has eternal value!

This is certainly not an exhaustive list, and what may work for some may not work for others. That’s OK. Keep at it until you find what works best for your family. The key here is to seize the moments that you can!