Your children are already writing the sentence. Someday someone will ask them what home was like, and they'll answer in a few plain words. Here's what I hope mine say.
Dad Read The Bible
The Greatest burden a child must bear is the unlived life of the parents—Carl Jung
Unfortunately, homes are often noisy these days. Silence is an unwanted visitor.
We turn on music, YouTube, podcasts, news, etc. at all times to avoid sitting in silence. Nowhere is this more evident than in the act of reading a book. Not on your phone, but a physical book.
There is something strikingly beautiful about a parent sitting in the silence reading the Bible. Will our children observe this? Or, like the Jung quote, will they carry the burden of our unlived devotional walk with Jesus Christ?
Mom And Dad Prayed
Likewise, ye husbands, dwell with them according to knowledge, giving honour unto the wife, as unto the weaker vessel, and as being heirs together of the grace of life; that your prayers be not hindered.—1 Peter 3:7
Jonathan Edward once said that every Christian family ought to be, as it were, a little church. This observation about children is vital if we expect them to walk in the Truth.
Instruction and advice profit little when your own lives don't back them up as parents. And the image of a mom and dad praying together shows unity.
Can two walk together, except they be agreed—Amos 3:3
Edward’s quote from his farewell sermon strikes hard here. Are we as parents presenting practical holiness to our kids? Are we the little church at home, or are we the house of ill repute? Quick gratification and secretive desires.
Or
Are we striving together to chase God's high calling?
We Were Forgiven a lot
“I am a great sinner, but Christ is a great Savior.”
— John Newton
Do we show a life of gratitude for the forgiveness we received from Christ? Or do we hold grudges and keep score?
Unfortunately, this is not the norm, and we must strive for it. So, left lazily unchecked, it’s in our nature to go toxic.
Here is the pattern, plain as day.
One person holds offense like a ledger.
Each child learns which side is safe to stand on.
The ones who leave first get called the problem.
The ones who stay keep the peace and lose each other.
This pattern is avoided when we keep our lives in perspective regarding what He did for us.
Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.
— Jesus, Luke 7:47
We Laughed at Supper
The holiest sound in your house tonight might be laughter at supper.
"A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones." (Proverbs 17:22)
God made joy plain enough for a child to keep.
In some homes, supper is silent, everyone is on a phone, or everyone is bracing for it.
If your faith only feels real in a special mood, it will be thin by Tuesday. Most of the Christian life is quiet work: meals, chores, kind words, a faithful home.
"And that ye study to be quiet, and to do your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you;" (1 Thessalonians 4:11)
Breaking bread is an art that is quickly becoming archaic and relegated to a type of trad fan fiction. This ought not to be.
“For a dinner of meats without the company of a friend is like the life of a lion or a wolf.”— Epicurus
What will our children say about our homes? What will they say: that they resembled the little church or the house of ill repute?
P.S. I’ve been up writing this since 3 am this morning. Sometimes I wake up. The pre-order for the new guide is still open. Written from lived experience
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