God has a 4 step plan for families. He gave it to Moses. The grand strategy for bringing about spiritual health was through the family.
"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
The Power of Influence
God knows that the greatest factor of influence in your life will be your parents. Why? Because of the sheer volume of time the parents spend with their kids. There is an inevitable factor of influence. God gives us four simple platforms.
#1 - Sitting
Dinnertime is the major point of convergence for every member of our family. Everything stops, and we are together. We ask to simple questions every night at dinner. "What was the best part of your day, and what was the most challenging part of your day." We don’t always talk directly about a particular Bible passage, nor do we have a formal Bible study. Yet it’s a time to consistently reinforce how our Christian worldview dictates how we view situations.
#2 - Walking
He tells us to talk about the Bible when you walk along the road. Our family tries to makes good use of our drive-time. We often have faith-based stories, Scripture songs or other spiritually enriching opportunities for the captive audience in our minivan-turned taxicab.
#3 - Laying Down
There is an uncharacteristically open heart when kids are in their PJ's and nestling down into their beds. Consistently reading the Bible to my kids at night has been one of the most significant spiritual experiences in our family, by far. These times are brief and fleeting, but stacked together it points their hearts toward heaven.
#4 - Getting Up
Often our home, as breakfast is hurriedly being served, I have simply asked the following question. "Hey Guys? What did we read about last night from the Bible?" There is great value in simply recalling last nights story. There will be significant retention by using this simple strategy alone. It is simple. It is quick. It works.
God has a 4 step plan. It is simple. It places Him at the crossroads of our daily life.