Feature
Building Daily Rhythms of Devotion
Families of Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield, Mo., receive support from their congregation to build intentional practices of faith formation in their homes.
It’s still dark outside when the Love family gathers around their kitchen table in the morning. Coffee’s on, and banana chocolate chip muffins are slowly being munched. Aiden, a sixth-grader, rubs sleep out of his eyes. His older sister, Addison, joins him at the table.
It’s quiet as dad Ahren reaches for the devotion book and begins: “You have shown me the path of life, and You make me glad by being near to me.”
After Aiden reads the day’s Bible passage and Ahren reads from the Lutheran Book of Prayer, the Loves offer simple prayers from the heart — ex corde prayers — for one another.
Ahren prays for his son to have energy for a long morning of MAP testing and an afternoon of track practice. Aiden prays for his sister to have a great day, especially in band class, where she has recently earned the position of head drum major. Addison prays for her parents — both of whom are public school teachers — that God will be with them in the classroom.
Mom Angela offers the final prayer: “Dear Jesus, we praise You for all that You are in our lives, and please forgive us for our shortcomings. Help us to get through the highs and lows of this day and every day, and help us to encourage each other to focus on You.”
In just seven minutes, it’s over, leaving the Loves time to finish up breakfast and talk before the day’s activities begin.
Finding a Time That Works
Mornings have not always looked this peaceful for the Love family. When they lived in Ozark, Mo., south of Springfield, they were only five minutes from school, but in the mornings, “everyone was running around,” says Angela.
When the Loves switched to a school in Springfield, the thought of the longer commute — now 25 minutes — was daunting.
Rather than getting frantic, though, the family began building in more time to get ready. Their alarms may be going off earlier, but, Ahren says, “We ease into the day.”
As Aiden and Addison have gotten older, their after-school schedules have filled up with homework and extracurriculars. Over time, the early morning became the most reliable time for the family to be together, and — with the encouragement of their congregation, Trinity Lutheran Church, Springfield, Mo. — they do their best to make sure that this time includes a family devotion.
The Love family has now moved to Springfield, but they still choose to wake up early and meet in the kitchen to intentionally start their day with God and one another. “This just became our time, so we’ve held onto it,” says Angela. “There will always be those mornings that don’t work out, or we don’t have the time, but it is such a wonderful blessing, and one that we never realized we were capable of.”
‘O Lord, Open My Lips’
Across town, the Stifle family also gathers around the table for daily devotions. Since dad Bryan works remotely and mom Kelsey homeschools their children, they have a little more flexibility when it comes to start time: On a day in late May, it’s around 1 p.m. when all five children are finally gathered around the table.
The Stifles are preparing to move to Idaho, and in the stress of home showings, packing and other preparations, it’s been a challenge to fit in regular devotions. As they sit down, their second eldest, Warren, is quick to note that it’s been a while since their last one.
Yet, as they move through the office of daily prayer, the children easily fall back into its rhythm, responding to the versicles with words they know by heart: “O Lord, open my lips, / and my mouth will declare Your praise” (Lutheran Service Book, p. 295).
Kelsey helps their eldest, Theo, through the trickier pronunciations in the day’s lectionary reading. She pauses him every now and then to check Evy and Warren’s comprehension. When Theo finishes, the children repeat the final verse after Kelsey, piece by piece: “And it shall come to pass / that everyone who calls upon the name of the Lord / shall be saved” (Acts 2:21).
Bryan uses the same repetition method with the Third Commandment. Theo and Warren are eager to show that they know the Apostles’ Creed, reciting it in turn. After the Lord’s Prayer, the Stifles also pray for each prayer request listed in their Sunday bulletin.
Upon the final “amen,” the three older kids race out of their seats — not because they’re eager to skedaddle, but because “go joyfully to your work,” as the office of daily prayer instructs, is an ingrained rhythm, propelling them into the rest of their day.
The ‘Number One Mission Field’
The Stifle family became members at Trinity just over a year ago. Bryan and Kelsey were drawn to the “theological consistency” of Lutheran doctrine and what they saw as a “more sound view of catechizing children” in the Lutheran church.
The Stifles didn’t want their children to grow up in doubt about the meaning of their Baptism. First Peter 3:21, “Baptism … now saves you,” has become something of an anthem for the family. Having grown up in churches that left members in perpetual doubt about the state of their salvation, they now seek to remind one another of their baptismal identity every day.
“Our children are our main evangelistic field,” says Bryan. “To have them strong in the faith and remain in the faith — [that’s] our number one mission field.”
“If the kids have questions,” says Kelsey, “we want them to feel comfortable to ask us. … Bryan and I try to get in the habit, too, of when we sin, especially against the kids, that we model repentance and forgiveness: ‘I’m sorry I yelled at you,’ or ‘I’m sorry I wasn’t patient with you,’ and talking through how it relates to the commandments.”
Even with a flexible start time, it can be difficult to get devotions going every day, but the Stifles do their best to keep at it. Says Bryan: “Even though we may not want to do devotions in the morning, if we’re tired or busy or mad at each other, we ought to do it, because it is good, and it is honoring of God.”
Seeking an ‘Eternal’ Goal
The Love and Stifle families’ faith formation in recent years has been shaped by the encouragement of Hannah Knehans, director of family life ministry at Trinity Lutheran Church in Springfield. “When she came into our church, it was life-changing,” says Angela. “She’s helped us to take more ownership [of faith formation] in our own homes.”
Through resources, workshops and visitation, Knehans equips and encourages the parents of Trinity for their God-given role of passing on the faith to the next generation.
“Everyone wants their kid to turn out well, but for many people, that just becomes, ‘I want my kid to be happy,’” says Knehans. “I try to help parents understand that your goal for your child should be eternal: that they will be with our Lord eternally and rest in their identity as a Christian and not as an athlete or an academic or a businessman. Those things don’t last.”
“The likelihood that children are going to remain connected to the church and strong in their faith is much higher if children see their parents studying God’s Word,” says the Rev. Dr. Nicholas Hagerman, Trinity’s pastor. “If children study God’s Word and pray with their parents, this is the kind of thing that will help them be disciples for life.”
“You have to be intentional, whether your children are homeschooled, in Lutheran schools or public schools,” says Knehans. “Sometimes parents don’t feel that they’re equipped, especially if this wasn’t modeled to them.”
Hagerman encourages families to start small: “Do something manageable, and then over time, you can add.”
“Don’t be discouraged if it seems like your kids aren’t paying attention or participating as well as you’d like them to,” he continues. “They’re still absorbing a lot.”
Families can begin by reciting the Lord’s Prayer together each day, adding other prayers over time. Knehans provides parents with simple resources, including devotion structure outlines, to “help them see that doing devotions and centering your home around faith formation doesn’t have to be complicated.”
Trinity also finds ways to encourage parents to have “faith-filled conversations” with their children. As part of this, the bulletin includes discussion questions about the sermon so that families can continue talking about the service on the drive home.
“We’re not just Christians on Sunday mornings or Wednesday nights. We are Christians all days of the week and at all times of the day, and Christians are meant to be occupied with the Word of God,” says Hagerman. “Finding time to do that every day as a family is one way we continue to be strengthened in our faith.”
“Faith formation is a journey, and it’s something you’re going to continue throughout your entire life,” says Knehans. “[God’s] mercies are new every morning, and [we] can continue to grow in those little incremental areas every day.”
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Mary Henrichs
Staff writer and editor for LCMS Communications.
