The oak table in the picture now sits in the loft of my home. It was the kitchen table in my home when I was a child. Multiple times a day my family would gather around that table. I remember the chairs with wooden slats for the seats that we used back then. Not only did we share meals there, but we shared family time. We played and prayed together at that table. We had family devotions there. It has a lot of memories. After a while, another table took its place, and this one became the “game” table in the room my brother and I shared. He had it for years in his home, and gave it to me a few years ago (Thanks, Steve). Since then I have enjoyed seeing my grandchildren play here. It makes me happy to have this. Someday maybe one of my children or grandchildren will have it in their home.

Families are meant to share things with each other. One of the most important things to share with your family is your time. It is so easy to get wrapped up in your own interests, your friends and your work and your hobbies, that you neglect spending time with your family. In my ministry, I listened to a lot of people tell me that they regretted not spending more time with their children when they were younger. I don’t recall anyone telling me they regretted the time they did spend with their family and children.

As you spend time together as a family, you are meant to share time together in the Word. Parents and Grandparents have the responsibility to share more than their earthly possessions with their children. You are to share your faith with your words and your actions. It is a promise you made when your children were baptized. If you do not share your faith in your daily activities in your home, how will your children understand just how important it is?

Deuteronomy 11:18–19 “Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up.”

Proverbs 22:6 “Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.”

Ephesians 6:4 “Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the training and instruction of the Lord.”

2 Timothy 1:5 “I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.”

Knowing who Jesus is and what He has done for us all is the most important thing you can teach your offspring. It can be done at the kitchen table, but it should also echo through your entire homes and lives. What memories are you making with your family and children?