Several years ago I wrote about scheduling a “quiet time” for our children. At the time they were ages 6, 2, and 15 months. You can click here to read about that, and then an update here.
For now, here’s what works for us. Our two girls share a bedroom, so they take turns with one staying in their room and one going to the living room. Our oldest, 11 years old, reads her Bible, prays, journals, and if time allows, reads some of a missionary biography each day.
Our middle child, 7 years old, reads her Bible, prays, and sings songs from our church’s songbook.
Our youngest, 6 years old, is learning to read, so he sometimes looks in his Bible to find words he knows. Mostly he listens to praise music and looks through his Bible storybooks in his room. Though we may listen to other contemporary Christian music throughout the day (they like it especially when they are cleaning), only certain music is allowed for quiet time. This is a time for singing praises to God versus singing about our walk or various life situations.
Also, our younger ones sometimes color their picture in their Bible coloring book from their devotion with Dad the night before during this time.
I usually give them around 20 minutes. Sometimes more if they ask for more time.
We occasionally ask them how their time is going, what they are doing, and for those that can read, what they are learning. We don’t want this to be something we just do everyday without them knowing the purpose, which is to have a relationship with God.
As a result of this scheduled quiet time, one of our daughters repented and believed in Christ while reading the Word. As she read Ezekiel, the Lord opened her heart to see that the same sentence on Israel for their sin also rested on her. Therefore, she put her trust in Christ alone for salvation.
Looking back from when we first started this, I can see we have come a long way! I am thankful for God’s faithfulness to remind us and give us patience as we are training our children and much fruit already!
~Kimberly
The Word Is Not Imprisoned 