How did you prepare your child’s heart for worship last Sunday? Did you even take time to prepare your own? Are Sunday mornings a mad dash to get everyone in the car? Do you spend more time focused on how others will see you or bringing pleasure to God once you arrive at church?

Honestly, Sundays typically start off well, but somehow time escapes me, and I find myself rushing the kids and feeling stressed. By the time I even get to church, my heart is far from worship of God and focused totally on self. If only child A listened and put his/her shoes on or if so and so would have helped me get everyone in the car… Then I walk into the sanctuary and I missed the first few songs and I really needed a moment to breathe but now it’s greeting time…. I think you get the picture.

There are two main problems: time management and a prepared heart. Even though I have grown immensely in the area of time management, I was recently convicted that I’m neither spending time preparing my heart to worship God nor am I encouraging my children to prepare their hearts. For the first time, I declined to go out to eat with our family on Saturday night, because I knew it would be a late night that left my children tired and grumpy in the morning. Instead, we had dinner at home and everyone went to sleep at a decent hour. I purposed in my heart to tell my children how special Sunday is to me because we get to meet with the body of Christ and learn about Jesus. Even in our bedtime prayer, I prayed that we would be well rested so we could give God our full attention as He speaks to us through the teaching of His Word.

Seeing the excitement build in them gave me a desire to wake even earlier and prepare my heart. I decided to make Sunday mornings special by playing Christian music throughout the house while we get ready. I get everything I can ready the night before, and I make sure to cover the morning with prayer (that may seem ridiculous to some, but it’s truly a miracle to get four kids 4-and-under out of this house!)

Instead of looking to be entertained as I daydream about lunch, I am walking into the sanctuary hungry for God’s Word and fellowship. I want my children to grow up never forsaking the assembly of believers. I want them to view Sunday as a special time of rest from the world for our souls. I don’t want their memories to be of mom freaking out because she got up late.

So let me ask you, how do you prepare the hearts of your family to worship on Sunday? If you have any ideas, please leave them in the comments below.

Hebrews 10:24-25: “and let us consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds, not forsaking our own assembling together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another; and all the more as you see the day drawing near.”