So many of us desire a home where Jesus truly is the center. But we aren’t really sure how to get there.
If we want to keep Jesus at the forefront, then everything we do in our home- our priorities, our speech, our behavior, and even what we allow into our homes- must revolve around Christ.
Here are five specific ways we can intentionally create Christ-centered homes!
Read the Bible Regularly With Your Kids
Don’t leave their training in Scripture to happenstance or abdicate your responsibility to the church.
Without thoroughly knowing what God’s Word says and how to read it, your children’s spiritual development will be significantly compromised.
They’ll learn to depend on what other people tell them about Christianity.
Through holding everything they learn up to what the Bible says, your kids learn the authority and inerrancy of Scripture. By understanding that they are created in the image of God, they will believe in the sanctity of life and the great love of their heavenly Father not only for them, but for all people.
Once they’re able to read fluently on their own, encourage them to begin reading the Word for themselves. And I’m not talking about the watered down children’s version; I mean the actual, God-breathed text.
I know a lot of people start with the Gospels and generally hang around the New Testament for a while, but I would advise starting with Genesis and progressing through until Revelation (okay, maybe skipping Song of Solomon).
This is so your kids begin to understand how the Bible fits together as a whole.
Cover Your Family In Prayer
I’m not exaggerating when I say our homes are under attack. But prayer has the power to dramatically shift the spiritual atmosphere in them!
The enemy just loves when chaos, tension, anger, stress, and frustration take up residence in our houses. And the more I partner with these things, the more I allow them to rule in my home.
Praying means I stop agreeing with them, and start agreeing with God, asking Him to restore peace and change our perspectives.
Prayer is what allows me to extend grace and understanding when my kids are fighting and speaking unkindly to each other. Or when my husband is grumpy after a hard day at work.
It’s what helps me fight the very real spiritual battle for the hearts and minds of the people living inside my home.
Invest In Your Children Spiritually, Individually
If we’re intentional about it, spiritual disciplines such as prayer, Bible study, scripture memorization, and Christian service can be taught and modeled.
We shouldn’t effectively make our home into a one-size-fits-all church program, though. Kids are ready for and interested in different areas of faith development at different times.
Write down three areas where you think each of your kids most needs to grow spiritually this year. Prayer? Learning to read the Bible independently? Understanding the basics of the faith? Studying apologetics?
Then ask each child to write down three areas of their own. Compare your lists and decide on a final list of three goals for the year together.
Make an action of plan of what you’ll do to work on those goals.
Keep Out Anti-Biblical Influences
Our homes should be a sanctuary from the world, but so often we end up not looking that much different from it.
We become “of” the world, instead of merely being “in” it because we’ve consumed too much of its things through entertainment and education.
Simply put, our homes need to be set apart for God.
Take some time to truly reflect on the behaviors, attitudes, and types of media that are coming into your home.
What worldviews are they promoting? Decide which ones aren’t glorifying to God, and pitch them.
Change Your Mindset
Though there’s no specific formula for parenting in the Bible (how I wish there was!) Deuteronomy 6 lays out a pretty good model for us to follow.
As you can see plainly in these passages, discussions about faith were never something that had to be planned around school or other activities, or something to be marked in red on the calendar so parents wouldn’t forget.
It happened as the family did life together. These days family members are all running off in different directions.
Our society has made it normal for parents to spend as little as 12 to 15 hours with their kids during the course of a school week, and biblical instruction gets pushed to the back burner. Most of these hours are also task-driven instead of characterized by true quality time.
We can’t just throw a handful of scriptures at our children in the morning or evening rush between school hours and expect them to become faithful, committed Christ followers. Frighteningly, 70% of youth leave the church after high school.
Our relationship with our kids should be characterized by loving care expressed through togetherness, affection, correction, and instruction.
As mothers we hold the greatest position of influence over our kids, and make the most of our time, when we diligently train them and shape their character by the application of biblical discipline.
We create a truly Christ-centered home when we cultivate an environment that honors Him and places His Word as the highest authority.
And when you make Jesus the center of your life personally, gentleness, grace, and thanksgiving will naturally flow to the rest of your family!
Be sure to also read: 9 Steps For Building a Godly Home
Amen!
So glad to find you via Pinterest… feel like I’ve found another mama after my own heart!
It’s so refreshing to hear you talk about worldviews and media influences – they’re things that I’m starting to write more about on my own blog (after a bit of a hiatus and an overhaul!). My little boy is 9 months old, so it’s still early days yet but I’m trying to give him a good grounding in the Word of God even now. What goes into a heart & mind is what will come out. Not sure if you’ve come across Answers In Genesis, but they have some fantastic resources along those lines and for kids and adults about creation and the authority of Scripture too. I love them and hope to use more of their resources as my little guy grows! 🙂 God bless, sister – thanks for posting 🙂
Thanks for taking the time to read, Lois! I’m really encouraged by your comment. It’s great that while your son is still so young, you are building that solid foundation for him to stand on. Most people’s worldviews are fully formed by the time they’re age nine. We love Answers in Genesis and are big Ken Ham fans! I’ve borrowed the Answers For Kids series from our library and read it with my kids. I learned so much from those books, even as an adult. Keep doing what you’re doing! 🙂
I agree about teaching children the word so that they know for themselves. It seems that so many adults lack that ability, and I don’t want to leave my kids vulnerable.
I lacked that ability for most of my adult life and couldn’t adequately defend my faith. I definitely want my kids to have that sure foundation and a really good understanding of the Bible so they can distinguish lies from the Truth!
Amen amen amen. There is nothing more powerful that God’s word and prayer! Bathe your family in it!
I love your insight into Deuteronomy 6 and agree – there has to be a mixture of scheduled time in prayer and the Bible as well as simply the organic overflow of conversation that comes with living in a godly home. I sometimes worry if I’m doing “enough,” but generally speaking if I’m connected in my personal relationship with Christ, my parenting is naturally a lot better!
Thanks Gina! I worry that I’m not doing enough also but yes, if I’m staying connected to the true vine then I’m better able to parent my children with grace and patience. 🙂
I love all of these. I’ve been slowly trying to ensure my home is a Christ haven, and my toddlers know it. Thanks for the advice.
Thank you for stopping by to read and comment, Brittany! Your kids will be blessed because you’ve established that kind of home while they’re young.
My kids are grown now, but we started everyday with a Bible study. I’m amazed at who they are now and what they are becoming. Great advice for moms everywhere.
Love all the tips. My husband and I do majority of this already so it is so nice to see how much in agreement we are. I especially like how you said to invest in your children spiritually individually. That is very important to me!!
I have teens in public school and keeping some influences out of our home is a daily struggle because not all their friends have the same faith. It is something that can easily get away from parents if not watched out for. Great post!
Hi Marisa,
I am meeting you today through your blog, by way of the ArabahJoy LinkUp. I always enjoy reading other moms’ blogs and this now includes yours 🙂 God’s blessings to you as you share your heart with other moms, and especially within your family.
Found you through the Linkup.
Loved reading this! After I became a stay at home mom, I’m constantly looking for ways that I can create a Christ-centered athmosphere in our home. I want to be intentional about making Christ-like choices in our home so that anyone that steps through the door (and especially those that live in it) would fully acknowledge His presence, always!
Thank you for your wisdom!
Tanya from PromisesAtDawn.com
Excellent list of important spiritual practices. Away was helpful in motivating my children to memorize scripture. Then is would sit with them and discuss the meaning of the verse that they were learning. I’m visiting from Grace & Truth.
Thank you for your great tips Marisa! I’m going to grab the Adventure Bible for my kids. I would love for them to start reading the bible on their own too.
Hello Marisa. I love the way you thoughtfully laid out our first priorities. Our children need to hear and read the Bible at home. There’s too many distractions and opinions that that can push them off course. I started to read the Bible as part of our homeschool curriculum last year to my kids. (I should have done this years earlier though.) Thank you for reminding me that I should not stop this!
I hope your day is a good one. ?
Visiting from Christian Marriage & Motherhood Group.
Great tips! I loved this: “As mothers we hold the greatest position of influence over our kids, and make the most of our time, when we diligently train them and shape their character by the application of biblical discipline.” <== So true!!
This is so good and such a good reminder! My son is young so I forget that we should still be reading the Bible/Bible stories to him, but getting in the habit now sets us up for good habits later.
Really good post. Timely reminders for me as I am in a season of-exhaustion.
Excellent, thoughtful post. This is so true. Sharing!