In this week’s edition of our weekly newsletter, Development Director Miriam McKenney writes about a wonderful daily devotions resource for families that you may not be aware of. Scroll down to learn about Daily Devo!
Dear friends in Christ,
Forward Day by Day is a daily spiritual development tool that we pray sustains you each day as you life your best life following Jesus. We’re sometimes asked,what about Forward Day by Day for kids? What tool can I use to help me talk about faith with my children? Daily Devo is that tool!
Daily Devo: Devotions for Families
is an online devotional that’s designed to be shared with children of all ages to spark discussion about God, Jesus, and the Bible. Like Forward Day by Day, we follow the lectionary–the readings of the Episcopal Church. Each daily email contains four components:
Read scripture and a short meditation. This is a lot like Forward Day by Day, but with shorter meditations. The mediation usually ends with a question to prompt conversation with your kids, or for you to contemplate alone.
View a short video or picture that expands upon or enhances the meditation. Sometimes these are songs, cartoon or Lego depictions of the scripture, or an inspirational photo with a Bible verse.
Act on a call to action relating to the scripture. Often these involve other members of the family, offering an opportunity to reconnect at the end of the day.
Pray a short prayer that is easy for children to repeat or recite. We often encourage you to write your own prayers.
I find that I share mine with my daughter in the car on the way to school. She reads it from the back seat and we talk about it. It helps start her day grounded in Jesus and following God’s best ways to live. Her favorite part is the video! Editing and writing for Daily Devo has brought me closer to God’s word and to my family, which are blessings I didn’t anticipate. (If you like to write, consider writing for Daily Devo.)
Try a trial subscription to Daily Devo; when you subscribe, you can sign up as many emails as you need for your immediate family. A church subscription includes anyone in your congregation. Christian Formation folks: it’s great for Sunday School, too. Can you imagine what would happen if you had conversations with your children each day about scripture? How would it change your relationship?
Peace,
Miriam McKenney
Development Director
Ed. note: Scott Gunn is currently on vacation; for the next issues of Forward Today, we’ll be hearing from other members of the Forward Movement team. We hope you enjoy these fresh perspectives!
To get future reflections from Scott Gunn and the Forward Movement team in your inbox, subscribe to Forward Today.