Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions

One of the most important things you can do as Christian parents is to have regular family time in scripture. There are a lot of ways to do that, but probably the most popular is the family devotional. Unfortunately, many families avoid having family devotionals because the parents are unsure of what they should actually do during the devotional time with their kids.

We are always on the look out for new devotional books your family might find helpful. Recently, we were sent The Very Best Hands-On Kinda Dangerous Family Devotions by Tim Shoemaker to review. The concept is great – 52 family devotions that get families into scripture, but also have fun out of the box activities that go with them.

The set up of the book is parent friendly. At the beginning of each devotion there is a section outlining the materials you will need. There is also an area clearly marked that tells you what you need to do before you call your family in for the devotion – a must for those of us who skim or don’t like to read directions and then things don’t work well. The rest is standard devotion material – an activity and a discussion of the scriptures the activity was designed to help your children better understand.

The theology is pretty basic, although I would say this book is not for a family of very young children – I would say preschool and definitely elementary children would benefit the most, although some of the devotions teens would enjoy, too.

Fair warning though. There is a fatal flaw in this book for some families. Many of the materials required for the devotionals are not necessarily things you will have around your house – especially if you are not a DIY type of family. Having to purchase some of the needed items would make a few of the devotions a little pricey – especially if you will never use those items again.

The devotions also take a bit of prep time. Not outrageous amounts of time, but most of these devotions can’t be pulled off with no advance preparation. Honestly, I like that the devotions are that out of the norm and force parents to think and prepare before actually teaching their kids. I wish the author had encouraged parents to do some Bible preparation in addition to setting up the activity – it never hurts to drive parents back to the Bible more, too.

This is a great family devotion book if you like hands-on, family activities and don’t mind finding random objects and spending time preparing them. It could be the book you need to get your family doing regular family devotions.

This book was given to me for free in exchange for my honest review. An affiliate link is included for your convenience.

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Thereasa Winnett

Thereasa Winnett is the founder of Teach One Reach One and blogger at Parenting Like Hannah. She holds a BA in education from the College of William and Mary. She has served in all areas of ministry to children and teens for more than thirty years and regularly leads workshops for ministries and churches. She has conducted numerous workshops, including sessions at Points of Light’s National Conference on Volunteering and Service, the National Urban Ministry Conference, Pepperdine Bible Lectures, and Lipscomb’s Summer Celebration. Thereasa lives in Atlanta, GA with her husband Greg, where she enjoys reading, knitting, traveling and cooking.

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