Ladies' Coffee Hour

I don't know why it is so much harder to be consistent with daily devotions with my girls than it is to be consistent with anything else, except for the fact that 1) our flesh rebels against anything that is truly spiritual in nature, and 2) Satan just doesn't want us to do them.  I have struggled with this for as long as we have been homeschooling, which is a long time. Every year I say, "Okay, this year we are going to be really good about devotions. We are going to have a schedule! We are going to do things in the same order and at the same time each day. Get up, dress, make beds, eat breakfast.  Then we will have devotions.  We will read a chapter of Bible, then read from such and such book (the title is liable to change), and then we'll pray together. Then we can sit and talk about stuff, and we'll call it 'Ladies' Coffee Hour', even though none of us drink coffee."  Each girl nods her pretty little head and is excited about this arrangement. 

The new "schedule" lasts about two days.  One girl will get up early and get a good start on her school work, and will be slaving away at the academics at the very moment when I want to start devotions.  (It is really hard to stop them when they are on a roll!)  Or I will wake up late, and the girls will be deeply involved in Legos and Tiny Dreams when I am finally ready, and at that point the day is already out of order, and it is my own fault.  Or four girls will be outside enjoying a beautiful morning, running or skating in a circle around the house, and I think, "Oh good, they are having P.E. today!" and I let them go.  Devotions here have definitely been sporadic, although I will say that we have all enjoyed the Ladies' Coffee Hour on those days when I have accomplished my goal in that area.

This morning I had two girls zealously doing math right after they had finished breakfast. One was standing idly by, hinting by her very presence that it was time to do devotions. "Look," I said. "We have this problem with devotions.  I don't like to have you stop what you are doing, if it is school work. Maybe we should have devotions after lunch," knowing as I said it, that after lunch is not going to work, either.  "No!  Let's have them now!" they all said.  I asked them whether they wanted to hear a preaching tape, and they all said, "NO! We like when YOU do it, Mom!"  Me?  Really?!?!  The mom??? Wow, I was flattered!

So now to decide what to cover. I have been wanting to read through the Bible together, because although my oldest two have a good handle on Bible chronology, the younger two don't. I began to turn to Genesis and then, on second thought, I turned to Luke 2.  I wanted to share with them the miraculous circumstances surrounding the birth of Christ and the wonder of it all, since it seems like we don't come across that section of reading in our regular evening family devotions very often.

 

After the reading we prayed together for some lost people we care about, and for some bad knees recovering from surgery, for Daddy's day at the office, and for help to bless the Lord with our school day. Then we talked about all kinds of things. Like, how far along was Mary in her pregnancy when she left Elisabeth's home? (Math!)  How did the shepherds know the baby they found was The Right One? (How many babies do you think were sleeping in a manger that night? lol)  What did Jesus' name mean?  What do our names mean? (Etymology, right? Not entomology?  I get them mixed up. --  Which one is the study of bugs? )  What would it have been like to grow up with a big brother who was perfect and obeyed every single time? Would you look up to him, or resent him? How did Jesus's mother feel, having a perfect child?? (Sociology) Would you be able to get away with straying away from your parents on a family trip, with the excuse that you were going about your father's business? (The answer here was NO, your father's business is that you stay with the family!)

 

Anyway, we had a great time.   For tomorrow's Coffee Hour, Genesis 1 and then some.