Sermonette: Let's Huddle Up in Faith! Part VII

Over the past weeks, I’ve shared about a simple five-step nightly faith practice called FAITH5.

FAITH5 is a nightly ritual which helps families grow closer to one another and to God, one night at a time. All that benefit, and it only takes just a few minutes! Each night at bedtime, families “Huddle Up” to check in. Here are the five steps of the FAITH5 Home Huddle:

1. SHARE your highs and lows

2. READ a Bible verse or story

3. TALK about how the Bible verse might relate to your highs and lows

4. PRAY together

5. BLESS one another with the sign of the cross

Each night following the sharing of highs and lows, families open their Bibles and read from God’s word. Then they ask the sometimes hard, but always important question, “What is God trying to say to us through this Scripture verse?” Once you have wondered aloud together and sought God’s wisdom, we move on to step four, which is to pray. Then comes the final step, the last thing families do before turning out the lights of the day, which is to bless one another with the sign of the cross, as a way to remind everyone who they are and whose they are.

Over these past weeks, we’ve delved deep into each step of the FAITH5 program and the benefits and blessings that come with each one. This week, we’re looking at timing. Timing in a child’s life and timing in a single day.

The earlier you start a family ritual in your child’s life, the easier it is. If you start doing FAITH5 with your baby or toddler, they will grow up thinking this is what all families do. If you try to add FAITH5 to your family’s nightly routine when your kids are 11 and 14, it is definitely a lot harder. You’ll be dealing with hormonal attitudes by that time, which is a difficult task for every parent. This is not to say that you can’t start later, because you certainly can. But it is just saying that earlier is easier.

What this means is that even if your kids are 11 and 14 now, a year from now they will be 12 and 15. Time passes, so there is no time like the present to start FAITH5 in your home.

Then regarding the time of the day for FAITH5, nighttime is the right time. Psychologically speaking, having a bedtime ritual that is consistent and predictable is healthy for the whole family. It is comforting for children and definitely cuts down on the stress for parents.

The strongest argument for having FAITH5 at bedtime – as opposed to at dinner time or on the drive home – has to do with what happens in our brains after we fall asleep. Dr. Rich Melheim, FAITH5 creator states, “The last few minutes of each day set the stage for a night filled with neural networking, researching, creative problem-solving, and solutions. With recent advances in technology, we know that the areas of the brain that are associated with visual images, emotion and perception kick into high gear during sleep.” With these areas in the brain in high gear, anything is possible, including flying over any wall and slaying even the biggest of dragons. What happens in the time right before bed makes all the difference in what kind of adventures and solutions the kids dream up in their sleep.

Building your nightly bedtime ritual around FAITH5 will help everyone have good dreams and slay those dragons. It will help everyone grow in faith in God and see God’s action in their daily life. It will also help everyone be less stressed and get better sleep.

Consider huddling up with your family tonight to share FAITH5. Start tonight. What do you have to lose? Time? Never, as time is not spent with FAITH5, but is invested.

Deuteronomy 6:6-9 - And you must commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these commands that I am giving you today. Repeat them again and again to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up.

To learn more about FAITH5 Home Huddles, go to http://www.faith5.org