Making Family Worship a Habit

I read of a guy who wouldn't nourish his body until he nourished his soul first.  So keeping that in mind maybe you should try having worship before supper.  Not sure how practical that is for those with young ones.  But maybe the principal is adaptable.

Well, I can see how that would be hard as a kid, especially with all of the good food set in front of you.  However, for personal worship, I do find that it often is better for me to do it before breakfast.  If I wait to eat and do everything else first, it sometimes just doesn't happen.  But I'm not usually hungry first thing in the morning... if I was, maybe it would be hard to concentrate on worship.

 As far as Maslow's pyramid goes--I agree with it too a certain point, but I do believe there are exceptions when it comes to the spiritual realm.  There are many stories of people imprisoned, mistreated, starved, without security, etc. and who experienced a greater closeness to God then during the good, comfortable times.  Jesus said that to do the will of His Father was his food.  As Christians the spiritual side of life takes (or should) precedence over everything else.

"We spent several weeks with them at one point, and the worships before breakfast was pure torture."

Sounds more like a Pavlov issue.....

Thanks Joe!  We both got a good laugh out of that :)

Initially i posted this in jest, but the more i thought about it, the more i think it is actully true. Establishing a daily routine that becomes a habit. Hunger is often associated with spiritual things, that is part of the significance of fasting. Jesus is often associated with food. But it is process of associating the two together that is a process. Creating good habbits

Maybe this isn't really addressing the daily worship routine, but I was just skimming through a book in our church library on making Sabbath a celebration. One thing that jumped out at me was having a special Sabbath box. In it could be candles and tablecloths that you only use for Sabbath, a thanks journal to write in, certain toys or activity books that kids use only during that special day, rythm instruments for kids to use when singing, etc.. I wonder if it would be helpful to have a small worship corner in your house. Music instruments, song books, the current book you are reading, etc can be in the corner, maybe memory verses nicely displayed on that section of the wall. That way, you have something that you can visibly attach to the worship experience.  

Just an idea

I really like this. I had been trying to think of ways to make the Sabbath more special. I definately want to do this for Isaiah as he is getting older. I think it could work for worships also, especially with kids (maybe a little older than Isaiah). It would kind of be a cue that this is a special time to spend with Jesus. I think it would also make worships or Sabbath something to look forward to even more.

Now that quite a bit of time has elapsed since this first forum was posted, I would be interested in knowing where families are on this topic now that the kids are a little older or maybe now that new kids have arrived or will be arriving soon. Have some of the hints and tips worked?

Things have been going well for us with family worships now that Isaiah is a little older. We have our evening routine where he picks up his toys, we have worship, and then he gets ready for bed. He's gotten used to it and it has become a habit. We have a general time for it (give or take), and I am usually the one that reminds everyone about it. Christopher plays the guitar and we sing a few songs (Isaiah loves to sing), and then I read him his Sabbath School story, and we kneel and pray together. We keep it short and simple. Then I usually read and pray with Rachel right before she goes to bed. So that's what has worked for us...