Everyday Talk

“How much time do you spend talking to your children each day?”. That is only one of the questions that provoked me as I read John Younts’ book Everyday Talk. Since I have six children I’ve got to divide my available time six ways! Unless I am talking to all of them at once, I can only rack up so much time with each of them. I have about 1 hour in the morning and two hours including dinner on most nights. Though a part of that time is conversing with my wife let’s just say I have one half hour per child to work with. That is not a lot of time to lead and influence them for the kingdom of God. Throw in a few meetings and long days, and it can be hard staying connected with my children This is a great question to keep me from drifting away from the daily reality of shepherding my children’s hearts.

Here is another question from the book. “What do your children hear from you about God in the few minutes that you have each day to speak to them?” Now I’m really convicted, and with a title like Everyday Talk, you might think that if you miss a day you blew it. But that is not the way the book is written. For instance, I think I have spent more time talking about the Eagles losing, my latest EBay purchase, and the weather, than I have talked about God with my children outside of our family devotions. If I could only redeem some of the time I already spend in conversation, I actually have a lot of time to lead my children spiritually day to day. John Younts puts it this way, “Your interaction with God in everyday, ordinary, non-church life is the most powerful tool of influence that you have with your children.” That is good reminder for all of us.

The balance of his book is a chapter by chapter encouragement on how to talk to your children about God in everyday life. John helps parents talk about the Lord and the gospel and gives practical tips to help us talk to our children about everything from relationships to music to sex. He also reminds us as parents that our conversations with each other, in the presence of our children, shape their view of marriage. So, to start to put it into practice, have a conversation with one of your children when you get home. Then, call your wife into the room, give her a big hug and a kiss and let your whole family know just how much you love her. Not a bad alternative to recapping the Eagles last game for the third time in the week.

If you’d like to inject a little more fresh vision into your conversations with your kids, pick up a copy of Everyday Talk at the Book Shoppe.