Bedtime Routine

When Grace was born, Jeremy was doing a midnight paper route and our bedtime routine was very lax. Grace would often be put down around 7pm and it would take me lying next to her, sometimes for over an hour, until she finally fell asleep. This continued until Abigail was born. Thankfully, by then, Jeremy had quit his second job and was awake in the evenings and able to help me put the girls down for bed.

I cannot praise the Lord and my husband enough for how diligent he was in setting up a bedtime routine. He thoughtfully planned a routine that started with Luther's evening prayer, and it has evolved over the last 2 years into a family devotional time, complete with hymns and Scripture verses. How wonderful to have a husband who has taken the role of spiritual leader so seriously. Even when tired or stressed, he has never skipped the bedtime routine. Sometimes it is shorter than others, but he always puts the girls down with prayer.

Here's a typical bedtime:

Each girl is dressed in pajamas, brushes her teeth, and is given a small cup of water. Their room is red-up (please excuse my Pennsylvania Dutch), and Daddy picks out a book or two to read. The girls sit in his lap while he reads the books, then they climb into their beds and Daddy recites the Apostles' Creed. Next Daddy leads the girls in their memory verses. So far that consists of John 3:16, Psalm 23, John 14:1-6, and the Ten Commandments.

That is followed by several songs and hymns. Our current reportoire is Stand Up, Stand Up for Jesus, Jesus Loves Me, Amazing Grace, and Take me out to the Ball Game. :)

Then Daddy closes with Luther's evening prayer. Then the girls are kissed and told they are loved.

This whole routine can take an hour, but usually lasts about 30 minutes. It has become such a special part of their day and I'm sure they will carry the memory of their Daddy's love and attention all their life.

Thank you, Jeremy, for being such a gracious father. In this daily act of selfless love, you are showing our girls the love of the Father. You could be doing so many other things during this time, but you choose to spend it guiding our girls, showing them Jesus, and modeling for them the kind of man they will one day search out to marry and build a family with.