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One of the best decisions that Heather and I made was to let our faith in God be on full display to our children. We never pretend to have everything all figured. Instead, we show our children an authentic faith built around the pursuit of God. When things go well, we display a steadfastness in our faith that keeps God at the center of who we are. When things God bad, we show them a faith that turns to God for the wisdom on how to navigate whatever life has thrown at us.

My children have most of their lives in front of them, but we have seen the fruit of our labor in that we have six children who have developed a deep faith and love for God. Part of what helped reinforce this was that we placed God as the priority over our lives, even before stepping into ministry full-time. Things like our quiet time with God and church attendance have become non-negotiable items in our family.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 states: 

“And these words which I command you today shall be in your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie down, and when you rise up. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.

God intended for our faith in Him to be weaved into every part of our lives. He desires an all-in faith on display everywhere we go. This faith should be taught to our children, be part of our conversations when we are at home or out and about with other people. Deuteronomy even instructed the people to write God’s word on the doorposts of their houses. This may seem a bit overboard, but God requires a consistent and steadfast faith that is only achieved through deliberate actions that may seem radical to some. 

There are so many distractions that fight for our attention daily. Sports, hobbies, friends, family, careers, and doing life with our spouse and kids can fill up every hour of our days. After a long day at work, it is easy to come home and relax in front of a TV, binge-watching whatever new show is streaming that moment. Exhausted, we stumble into the weekends and just want a morning at home on a Sunday instead of waking the family up and attending church together. We can easily find ourselves too busy to have a quiet time with God or pray together as a family. Slowly, our faith can be eroded away to a Sunday morning service experience and not part of our everyday lives. 

If we want God to be at the center of our homes, we have to consistently make Him the priority of our homes. As we do this, we show our kids a meaningful and tangible faith that is part of our everyday lives. More important, we pass our faith down to our children as a legacy that will impact their future families.