Saying Yes to God As a Family: 30 Lessons for the Table from Rhinestone Jesus

By Kristen Welch

Do you want to spend time with your kids in the Bible, but aren’t sure where to start? Do you wonder how to even keep your kids around the table in the first place?

Kristen Welch, author of the popular We Are THAT Family blog, has been there. And she’s learned it all starts with a yes—with your family saying yes to God right where you are, in the middle of ordinary life.

Saying Yes to God as a Family is a 30-day Scripture reading plan for families, with practical guidance on how to connect with God’s Word around the dinner table. You’ll find questions for your kids, conversation starters and icebreakers, family prayers, and more. Kristen shares her own story of why this has been so important for her family and how they got started, offers suggestions that have worked for them, and provides a practical, easy approach for your own family to adopt.

Connect with your kids today and strengthen their faith as you break bread together—and go deeper with the Bread of Life.

(Inspired by Kristen’s book Rhinestone Jesus; includes Scripture memory verses and bonus illustrated quotes.)

• Language: English
• Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
• Release date: May 1, 2014
• ISBN: 9781414399461

Kristen Welch

Kristen Welch is a mom just like you and me--only funnier. Her blog, We Are THAT Family (www.wearethatfamily.com) is read by over 70,000 women a month, who enjoy her often-hilarious, always-honest reflections on motherhood, marriage, and Christian life. In 2010, she went to Kenya as a blogger for Compassion International, and regularly contributes to online magazine Blissfully Domestic and (In)Courage, an inspirational blog for women. She lives in Texas with her husband and three children.

Book preview

STARTING PLACE

I’VE BEEN WRITING to mothers on my blog for nearly seven years, and during that time I’ve discovered a community of women a lot like me: imperfect people who love their families and who sometimes feel inadequate, but long for their lives to matter. I’ve fallen in love with inspiring women to say yes to God, right where they are. In my book Rhinestone Jesus, I chronicle my big yes to God these past few years as well as share my passion for connecting with our families in God’s Word around the dinner table.

When I asked the moms who read my blog if their families spent time in the Bible together, I thought I was asking a yes-or-no question. I wasn’t prepared for hundreds to send me comments and questions such as I really want to but I don’t know where to start. Do you have any ideas? and How do I keep my kids around the table?

That’s the reason I thought I’d share why this is important to our family and how we got started, offer some suggestions that have worked for us, and provide a practical, easy approach for others to consider.

For us, it all began with a conversation in the car on the way home from church. That Sunday I asked my son, who was six at the time, what he learned in Sunday school. He tried to remember, mentioning something about a man and a boat.

Oh, was it the story of Noah? I guessed.

Who is Noah? he asked.

You know, Noah and the ark, animals two by two. I could tell by the look on his face he was absolutely clueless.

My heart pounded and I felt like such a bad mom. Because everyone knows about Noah, right?

Were there two whales in your story? Because there was only one in mine, he responded, sounding confused. It turned out he was talking about Jonah. At that moment I realized the one hour a week of Bible time my kids were getting at church wasn’t cutting it for my family.

From that point on, we began to make reading the Bible together a priority in our home. We’ve tried a lot of different ideas, books, versions, etc. Some have failed miserably. And others have only worked for some of the ages and phases of our children. But the most important thing is, we keep trying.

WHY READ THE BIBLE TOGETHER?

The Guinness Book of Records acknowledges the Bible as the world’s bestselling book. Most families probably have multiple copies in various translations in their homes. But many don’t read it together. Why does that matter? Not only is the Bible filled with amazing stories of adventure, wild miracles, and incredible historical truth, it’s the only book that has the power to change the reader. Reading together will not only draw you closer as a family, it will plant seeds of truth in your lives that will blossom and grow. You are investing in your family when you read God’s Word together. And it’s something that God wants you to do.

These commandments that I give you today are to be on your hearts. Impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. DEUTERONOMY 6:6-7

Using these same verses, Robert Velarde pointed out in a 2009 Focus on the Family article that parents have both the responsibility and the opportunity to implement this practice at home.

In Christian homes it’s not so much that parents don’t desire to help their children understand God and His truths; rather, it’s usually a matter of finding time combined with not knowing how