Our family always struggled with how to make time for family devotions and how to make the time meaningful and fun. We wondered how to reinforce the lessons and values we were trying to teach. I wish we had had something to give us ideas back then.  

Karen Whiting’s new book 52 Weeks of Devotions for Busy Families, published by Rosekidz, is a great resource for today’s busy families. Karen’s acrostic for SIMPLE helps families understand how simple planning will make your time fun, hands-on and meaningful. Her options for each week include a Bible story and verses, a devotion, activities, ideas for scrapbooks/prayer journals, chat prompts, and a wrap up to discuss what the family members have learned.

I really like that nothing has to be done in order. You may choose to do an activity to introduce a concept before reading. You may only choose to do some of the weeks activities, saving the other activities for the next year’s devotional time. Your family may want to skip to devotions that are pertinent to your current family needs. Karen also describes ways to include an absent family member who may be deployed or away on business.

One of the best things about Karen’s devotions is there is no need to wait until January to begin. Why not just jump right in this week with #25 July 4th Patriotism?