It was so fun having the boys home from school over Christmas break, and hubs even took a few days off, so we got to spend lots of family time together. One morning we loaded the crew into the swagger wagon and headed out for breakfast at Cracker Barrel. Now if you’ve ever been to Cracker Barrel, you know that it is chock full of tchotchkes. There is old timey memorabilia on every foot of wall space.

Big Bro spotted this yoke and was asking about, so I explained how when two oxen plowed a field, the farmer would put one strong and one weaker ox together on the yoke so the stronger could train the weaker one. Basically, the stronger ox would be doing the majority (if not all) the work, while the weaker one was learning which way and how to go.

And I was reminded of a truth from scripture: “For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:30).

It was a natural, simple way to share a bit of truth from God’s Word. When we yoke ourselves to the Lord, we–literally–have an easier row to hoe.

“Fix these words of mine in your hearts and minds; tie them as symbols on your hands and bind them on your foreheads. Teach them to your children, talking about them when you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up. Write them on the doorframes of your houses and on your gates, so that your days and the days of your children may be many in the land that the LORD swore to give your forefathers, as many as the days that the heavens are above the earth” (Deuteronomy 11:18-21).

So after we talked about the yoke, we started looking around to see what else reminded us of something from the Bible… We made a game of it, seeing how many we could spot.

The oil lamp on each table reminded me of Psalm 119:105. “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path.”

And the fire reminded Him of God’s faithfulness and their bravery when Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego were cast into the fire (Daniel 3). And if you’ve ever gotten close to a big open fire, you know how hot it gets, even standing some distance back, so that really brought the story to life for him.

And this deer mount reminded me of a psalm: “As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul thirsts for you, O God” (Psalm 42:1).

And this Everybody’s Hand Cleaner was perhaps my favorite because it reminded us that Christ came for everyone. Every. One.

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people” (Titus 2:11).

“I am not ashamed of the gospel, because it is the power of God for the salvation of everyone who believes” (Romans 1:16).

“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him” (John 3:16-17).

The point is, it doesn’t always have to look like some sit down, intentional, intense devotional time to interact around God’s word with your kids. It can be as simple as a game at Cracker Barrel while you wait for your order…

So–I’d love to know–how do y’all talk about God’s word with your kids “as you sit at home and when you walk along the road, when you lie down and when you get up”? I’d love to hear what works for you–Do tell!

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