// 5.& 6. pray together & read the word aloud //

How does a family stay together? You could coin any number of phrases.

The family that plays together, stays together.

The family that laughs together, stays together.

The family that wears plaid together, stays together.

that's a thing, right?

But I firmly believe that the family that prays together, stays together.

I mentioned before that I grew up being home-schooled. People always ask me, "what kind of home-school did you guys have? Were we disciplined? Did we work ahead like crazy? Was I doing 11 grade math when I was 12? Well, I'll just say our home-school was a little more on the relaxed side. Some days were more productive than others. But the one thing that we did everyday, without fail (besides lattes) was have family prayer time, and read from the bible together.

When we were little it looked something like my mom reading from a comic book styled picture bible and me and my siblings snuggled up to her to get a good view.  And then we would pray for any of our friends and family who were sick or otherwise in need.

As we got older the picture Bible turned into an actual Bible. And the prayers became more personal and directed. Wisdom for where to apply to college, where to look for a summer job, asking that the Lord's will be done in difficult situations.

On the weekends, if we were all at home my dad would suggest that we read from the word, and have some prayer time. It wouldn't be honest of me to say that it was something I always looked forward to. As a fidgety and angsty teen-ager sometimes I just wanted to be left alone, to watch tv, or to go talk to a friend on the phone. But my dad would insist and so we'd all gather around and listen, and then pray. And no matter how much I didn't want to be doing that, by the time we were finished I was always so glad I did. There is sometime about praying with other people that softens rough edges and brings about reconciliation.

my dad, reading the word.

Now my siblings and I are all grown up. But we still pray together as a family. We often have dinner at my parents house on Sundays, and after dinner, when we're sitting around drinking our decaf, my mom or dad will suggest that we have some prayer time. Now, without hesitation, we all gather and willing share the things on our hearts that need lifting up. I'm glad we still do this, I'm gla
d that Alex and Johnny get to be apart of it. And I'm thankful that my parents set this great example for us to follow.

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