On the sixteenth episode of the Family Discipleship Podcast the hosts (Adam Griffin, Chelsea Griffin, and Cassie Bryant) talk about family worship with author, artist, wife, and mother Ruth Chou Simons.

You can follow Ruth here on instagram and you can connect with her Gracelaced ministry here. 

Questions we asked Ruth in this episode: 

• What does time in the word look like for your family and how has it changed as your boys have gotten older?  How formalized is the plan you have in your house for family worship? Do you have plans or figure it out as you go?
• Can you think of a time when the discipleship attempts in your home did not go according to plan, when things weren’t “perfect”?
• How about the opposite side of the spectrum? Can you share with us an example of when you saw the Lord really bless your family through time in the word together? Any favorite memories or light-bulb moments for your kids?
• In the book you say, “Sometimes we parents want a formula – a magic prescription that will ensure well-behaved, happy kids and a God-honoring home. But there are no formulas or prescriptions that ensure such things. There’s only a call to know God and be transformed by him.” How is that an encouragement to the tired or anxious parent?
• One thing that a reader cannot help but notice about your books is the artwork. Can you tell us about that?
• This book is one that you and your husband Troy did together. Can you tell us about the roles you each play in leading family worship?
• One thing we hear a lot from parents is about how much is competing for their family’s time. What would you say to the parent that feels too busy or too ill equipped to lead family devotions or family worship in their home?
• I know that Foundations is far from the only book and resource you’ve produced. Can you tell us about some of the other projects you’ve published and who they're for? Anything recent or on the horizon you want to tell us about?

Some of our favorite quotes from Ruth Chou Simons in this episode:

• About family worship - “I am trying to help families see how simple and how imperfect this can be everyday. It doesn’t have to be this big elaborate thing.”
• “I would want my family to recognize how the gospel and the ‘one anothers’ of the gospel really shape and define who we want to be and how we are asking God to change us.”
• “It’s the word of God you really need.”
• “Relationship is a stronger motivation than ritual.”
• “Even if you can incentivise or force or get everyone on a chart, that does not ensure that hearts are won by the gospel. We have found over and over again that we as parents have to go first.”
• “Sometimes we parents want a formula – a magic prescription that will ensure well-behaved, happy kids and a God-honoring home. But there are no formulas or prescriptions that ensure such things. There’s only a call to know God and be transformed by him.”
• “You are called to begin again right now even if you already failed this morning.”
• “Everyday I wake up and I realize that I had nothing to do with that sunrise and it’s the most glorious thing.”
• “Something is discipling you and me at all times.”

Resources mentioned in this episode:

• Foundations by Ruth Chou Simons
• When Strivings Cease by Ruth Chou Simons
• Gracelaced by Ruth Chou Simons
• “Christ calls us to care for those living in poverty—including parents working hard for their children’s future. Download your free copy of Created to Flourish: How Employment-Based Solutions Help Eradicate Poverty, to learn how. HOPE International fights physical and spiritual poverty in 16 countries through Christ-centered microenterprise development.”

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To read more about family discipleship, check out the book Family Discipleship: Leading Your Home Through Time, Moments, and Milestones by Adam Griffin and Matt Chandler. 

The Family Discipleship Podcast is a podcast of Training the Church. 

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