When we are parenting younger ones, the mornings can feel like an impossible time to weave the gospel into our parenting. Feeding our kids, packing their lunches, finding their missing shoes, and resolving their disagreements can be all-consuming.
We know Deuteronomy 6:5-7 which teaches us: “Love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength. These words that I am giving you today are to be in your heart. Repeat them to your children. Talk about them when you sit in your house and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”
But how do we honor and obey this command in the chaos of our mornings?
As a mama to five boys, I know the struggle is real. But once I realized that it didn’t have to be as difficult as I was making it, and the boys didn’t have to be sitting perfectly still at the kitchen table to pray or read Scripture, and my delivery didn’t have to be perfect to make an impact, weaving the gospel into our mornings began to feel very doable.
So here are three simple things that changed how we started our day.
1. I recognized it starts with me.
I set the temperature in the kitchen and in the car. If I start the day believing the lie that my children’s faith lives are all on me, it will steal my joy and drain my patience pretty quickly. That is a burden God did not create for me to carry.
To be honest, I was never the mom who got up 30 minutes before everyone else to read her Bible. That’s what I did after I dropped them off at school. But what I did (and still) do as I got ready was I talked with Jesus and I listened to my playlist of Christian music. This is how I invited the Holy Spirit to lead me. This was particularly important on the days that felt too hard to face. I made worship my warfare, and I let my lips declare God’s faithfulness and goodness in my fear or worry. And on most days, it made a meaningful difference in how I was empowered to parent my kids.
2. I created a gospel-centered atmosphere in the kitchen.
This is as simple as turning worship music on and witnessing our kids sing along and declare God’s name and power over their day. I also put a basket of several of our favorite kids’ devotionals on the kitchen island. Each morning one of the boys would read from the devotional of their choosing. And on the days when they all needed to be focused on eating rather than reading, I read while they ate. Or I played the YouVersion Kids Bible Experience devotion of the day from the app on my phone!
Did they always listen and absorb the truth of the day in what we read or listened to? Of course not, but it was a rhythm we established, and I held onto the promise that God’s Word doesn’t return void (Isa. 55:11).
I also had a memory verse each week taped to the fridge. Every time they needed something from the fridge, they’d see it. Sometimes we’d make up fun songs and dances to the verse, and sometimes we barely read it. This is real life and it can be crazy. But again, these are just small ways to create a gospel-centered atmosphere before they start their day!
3. I waited to pray until we were in the car!
Not only did this give us one less thing to accomplish before leaving the house, but it was a small reminder that we can talk to God anywhere, anytime, for any reason. On some days I’d start with, “God, You are …” and let them shout out who He is. Then I’d say, “God, we thank You for …” and let them shout out their gratitude. And we’d close with “God, we need …” and let them ask for His help. And on other days, I’d simply pray for them as we drove. And I almost always closed my prayer with the Bible verse God impressed on my heart for them early on in my parenting, which is Ephesians 3:17-19:
[I pray] that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. I pray that you, being rooted and firmly established in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the length and width, height and depth of God’s love, and to know Christ’s love that surpasses knowledge, so that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
I chose this verse because I deeply believe that our children need to know God’s unconditional love for them before they can be compelled to wholeheartedly love Him!
Reciting Scripture to pray for our kids is an opportunity to strengthen their hearts with His Word and give them the knowledge that Jesus sees them and loves them and goes before them and gives them everything they need by the power of His Spirit within them.
But what about the mornings that fall apart. You know, those mornings when the kids yell at each other, and we then yell at them? What about the mornings when we didn’t lead with gentleness and joy, and no devotions were opened and no prayers were spoken? These are the mornings when we give our kids the gospel by modeling repentance and seeking forgiveness. I’ve had more opportunities to do this than I’d like to admit. But the older my kids have gotten, the more convinced I’ve become that it’s in our willingness to confess our weakness and sin to them that we show them the true beauty of the gospel. When we are honest about our daily need for Jesus and His grace, we give them permission to be honest about theirs! When things fall apart, let’s fall on Jesus. This is what our kids need to see most!
There is one other thing that has become increasingly clear to me as I’ve sought to give my kids the gospel, and I’ll close with this:
There is no formula for perfect mornings, and more importantly, for Christian parenting.
It is right and good to want to raise kids who love and follow Jesus, but our motivation must be obedience to God, not the outcome of our effort. That’s hard to type because I want to see outcomes just as much as anyone. I want to see my kids fall deeply in love with Jesus and follow Him faithfully through the seeds I plant and the work the Spirit does. But we need to remember that God does not owe us an outcome based on our timeline. To be clear, there was a time when I thought He did. I turned proverbs into promises and believed that if I did all the things the Bible told me to do—to raise my kids up in the love and knowledge of God and to plant seeds of faith in their lives through Scripture memory, church community, daily prayer, and serving—then God would give me the outcome I wanted, when I wanted it. This mindset forgets that my kids belong to God first and foremost, and it assumes I know better than God about when His love should grip their hearts and transform their lives.
So as we seek to give our kids Jesus as they start their day, let’s keep a posture of open hands rather than clenched fists, remembering that it’s the Holy Spirit’s job to produce the fruit of the Spirit in our kids‘ lives. We get to partner with God in the work He wants to do, and then we get to trust Him with the children He has entrusted to us!
For more from author Jeannie Cunnion, check out her Bible study, Never Alone: Parenting in the Power of the Holy Spirit.
In this 7-session study by Jeannie Cunnion, discover how the Holy Spirit’s presence and power transform how you lead and love your kids. You’ll be invited to wrestle through the question, Do I really know how to parent in the power of the Holy Spirit, or have I settled for parenting in my own power?
Good news, Mom! The Holy Spirit is championing you in the holy work of motherhood. Where you can’t, He can! He is faithfully at work, making the gospel irresistible to your kids. You are never alone in your pursuit to point your kids to the love of Jesus.
ABOUT JEANNIE CUNNION
Jeannie Cunnion is a bestselling author and speaker whose most recent books and Bible studies include Closer to God, Mom Set Free, Don’t Miss Out, and Never Alone. Her work has been featured on outlets such as The TODAY show, Fox News, CBN, and a host of popular podcasts. Jeannie holds a master’s degree in social work, and she is the co-founder of The 509 Foundation. She and her husband, Mike, live in Greenwich, Connecticut, with their five boys.
