We want to be upfront about something: we don't have this figured out.

There are weeks where our family devotional time is rich and meaningful and everyone is engaged. And there are weeks where it's five minutes of chaos before someone spills something and the baby starts crying and we just say a quick prayer and call it done.

Both are real. Both are us.

What we've learned over 26 years of marriage and raising eight kids is that keeping faith at the center of your family isn't about doing it perfectly. It's about doing it consistently — even when it's messy, even when it's short, even when it doesn't feel like enough.

Why It Has to Be Intentional

Here's the thing about a busy family: everything that matters has to be protected. Your marriage doesn't stay strong by accident. Your kids don't develop character by accident. And your family's faith doesn't stay alive by accident either.

If you don't build rhythms around it, the schedule will fill in. Sports, school, work, screens — they'll all expand to fill whatever space you leave. Faith gets squeezed to Sunday mornings, and then sometimes not even that.

We've been there. And we've had to fight our way back more than once.

What Our Rhythms Actually Look Like

Dinner prayer. Every night, without exception. It's short. It's sometimes chaotic. But it's a daily reminder that we're grateful, that we're dependent, and that we're doing this together.

Sunday church. This is non-negotiable for us. Not because we think church attendance is what saves you, but because we believe in the value of being part of a community that's trying to live the same way. Our kids need to see that faith isn't just a private thing — it's something you do with other people.

Conversations in the car. Some of the best faith conversations we've had with our kids have happened in the car. No eye contact, no pressure, just talking. We ask questions. We share what we're thinking about. We let them push back.

Modeling it ourselves. This is the big one. Our kids are watching how we handle stress, how we treat each other, how we respond when things go wrong. If our faith only shows up in formal settings, they'll learn that faith is formal. If it shows up in how we live — in our patience, our generosity, our willingness to apologize — they'll learn that faith is real.

When It Feels Like It's Not Working

There are seasons where it feels like nothing is landing. The teenagers are checked out. The little ones are too young to understand. You're going through the motions and wondering if any of it matters.

Keep going.

You're planting seeds in soil you can't see. The rhythms you build now — the prayers, the conversations, the modeling — are forming something in your kids that won't fully show up until later. Sometimes much later.

Trust the process. Trust the One who's in it with you.

— Jareth & Deb