We are instructed to hold regular family home evening, scripture study and prayer. I have blogged about the benefits of this numerous times. There are times in our family in which we are extremely successful in doing these things on a daily basis, and times when we are not. When we are going through the not-so-good times, I have found that it is usually one or a combination of the following five things.
1) Poor planning is one common reason why we do not have a well-planned out family home evening or we have a hurried prayer before my daughter misses her bus. When I take time to plan out a thoughtful and interesting lesson family home evening goes much smoother. Similarly when I plan a set time each day for family prayer and scripture study it goes much more smoothly.
2) Exhaustion is another reason that family scripture study and prayer may get off track. This may be both the parents’ exhaustion or the children’s or both. It is important that all members of the family take care of themselves, so that you have the energy, patience and attention span for a successful family home evening.
3) Unrealistic expectations can cause you to quit trying before you begin. It is not practical to expect your one year old to seat quietly during a twenty minute lesson. You may have the dream of all of your children coming willingly to study the scriptures together each time. (Although I do know of families where this happens, more have to struggle with a few of their children.) It is important to realize that having regular scripture study and family home evening is beneficial even if it seems too chaotic or out of control at times.
4) A lack of cooperation can be another roadblock. This may come from a nonmember spouse, a reluctant teenager or small children. If it is a spouse you may work out a system that is more effective for your family. You should handle your child and/or teenager as you see appropriate, but do not let them stop you from having scripture study or family home evening.
5) Disorganization is another reason that scripture study or family home evening may be difficult. If you are constantly trying to find your scriptures or your children’s scriptures this can really slow down and limit scripture study. You may consider having a basket that is used to store scriptures for family scripture time and one for family home evening supplies.
Related Articles:
Benefits of Family Scripture Study
Being of One Heart and One Mind at Home
Five Ideas to Help with Family Prayer