How to create a Godly home for your family
Building a Christian home is important for our families and their wellbeing. The world can be a harsh place, so we want to create an atmosphere that provides a safe place for our family to rest and rejuvenate.
As Christian parents, my husband and I work together to keep our household running calmly and smoothly. It not only decreases our stress levels but it also encourages a stronger family life with our children, which is so important.
And, if you’re like I am and no good at interior design, having a Christian home doesn’t have to do with decor. Instead it’s about creating a peaceful atmosphere where your family can relax, regroup and reconnect with each other and in their spiritual journey.
These 8 ways for how to build a Christian home are a great starting point for your family. They’re also part of the “Grace-Filled Stress Relief” free Bible study for moms. Find all the details here:
1. Take care of your own relationship with God.
“You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.”
Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
The first thing you need to do in order to build a Christian home is to take care of your own heart. Make sure you are reading God’s Word, spending time in prayer and are seeking spiritual wisdom from other Christians.
When we are connect to Christ Jesus, then we are more at-peace and less stressed. We’re also able to better fulfill God’s plan for our lives.
We cannot teach our children about God without having knowledge of God ourselves. Keeping your own relationship with God strong will help you be a better Christian mom and create a Godly home.
Be sure to check out these resources on how busy moms can find time for God:
- How to connect with God in the midst of raising a family
- How Christian moms can teach their children about God
- 5 Ways moms can find downtime
- Connect with other Christian moms just like you
2. Stay connected to your husband.
“However, each one of you also must love his wife as he loves himself, and the wife must respect her husband.”
Ephesians 5:33 (NIV)
Keeping your marriage strong is an important part of Christian family life. Sometimes church members get caught up in the verses about marriage that focus on the husband as the head of the home. However, God’s purpose for marriage is to be a loving, joint relationship.
You must love and respect one another to keep your relationship strong. No home is going to be peaceful with parents who are at odds with one another all the time.
In order to live on Godly parents, you must spend time together and talk about parenting in order to best minister to your kids’ hearts and physical needs.
Be sure to check out these resources on how to have a stronger Christian marriage:
- How to connect with your spouse while raising children
- Couple goals every Christian marriage needs
- How to have a happy married life in the midst of hard times
3. Pray for God’s wisdom and peace in your home.
“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.”
Colossians 3:15 (NIV)
If we want a home full of peace and calm, then we need to live as one body. Each member of the family needs to feel included and be part of family life.
As Christian families, we can help accomplish this through prayer. We pray for our family’s needs, but we must also pray for God’s wisdom and peace to be part of our family lives and part of our homes.
You can pray this together as a family or make a commitment in your own prayer life to ask for guidance and help from the Holy Spirit in your family life and home.
4. Monitor the content your family consumes.
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
Philippians 4:8 (NIV)
You don’t have to be constantly reading family devotions or watching Christian content. But, you do need to use the Word of God as a guiding principle in deciding what content to let into your home.
This will change through the years as your children grow. Things they are permitted to watch now aren’t the same as when they were toddlers.
We want to raise young people in the world but not of the world. Both of my children have groused about not being allowed to watch certain shows or movies their friends can watch.
However, we don’t use foul language in our family, and content rampant with it is not permitted in our home. Part of living a Christian life means that we are to be aware of what goes into our heads — and that certainly extends into Christian parenting and what we are putting into the heads of all our family members.
5. Make quality time with one another a priority.
“How good and pleasant it is when God’s people live together in unity!”
Psalm 133:1 (NIV)
Having a strong and calm Christian home also means spending time together just your family and letting the outside world fall away for a bit. You can do this however works best for your family.
For us, time around the dinner table is important. We talk about our days and what’s going on. We also spend time together watching movies and playing games.
And having two children is an ideal situation for us to divide equally time with them. Each of them has two nights throughout the school week they get to hang out with their dad and me solo.
Most of the time, we do fun things together during this time. Once a month, we have a check-in night with each child to talk about any concerns they have in any area of their lives.
Find more resources on having quality time with your family:
- 15 Ideas for spending time with your family at home
- 5 Ways to have one-on-one time with your kids
- 16 Volunteer ideas for families to do together
- Family fun night activities at home
6. Cheer for and encourage each other.
“Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
Ephesians 4:29 (NIV)
The Apostle Paul tells us that we are to use our words to build one another up. Jesus Christ tells us to treat others how we want to be treated in Matthew 7:12. In fact, Jesus’ words here are often referred to as the golden rule, because they best sum up God’s purposes for us to live in love.
Using kind and encouraging words within your home is important. Our children are always listening and learning from the things we say and do. We cannot tell them to speak nicely to one another, when we are not modeling that behavior in how we speak.
Our family has a principle that what’s good for one of us is good for all of us. Competition is left for games only and in no other way.
Our children support and cheer for one another just as their dad and I do.
Find more resources on speaking kindly:
7. Pray for one another.
“And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”
Ephesians 6:18 (NIV)
Prayer is important for spiritual growth to happen in the lives of your family members. We should pray for our families but also encourage them to pray for each other as well.
These can be prayers as simple as “God, be with my child today at school” or “Jesus, help my brother.”
Our children’s prayers will grow and evolve with them, but we want to start them off early with taking others to God in prayer — including their own family members.
Find more resources on family prayers:
- 14 Powerful prayers to pray for your school children
- Prayer envelope project for kids
- 8 Prayers for your husband
- 7 Short prayers for mothers
8. Make time for rest.
“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:28-29 (NIV)
These words of Jesus remind us of the importance of downtime. To build a Godly home full of peace and calm, you have to be there.
We can get caught up in the busy culture that surrounds us where we think we must be on the go all the time and do all the things. Intentionally set aside downtime for your family.
When our children were in elementary school, our general rule was they could only have one ongoing extracurricular activity at a time. That has grown and evolved with them, but we still guard our family’s downtime.
Downtime is important for physical and spiritual rest. It also allows you more opportunities to connect with one another.
Remember you aren’t alone!
No matter what, remember that you aren’t alone on this journey. God is with you every step of the way. Allow Him and His Holy Spirit to be at work in your life and in your home.
Connecting with other Christian moms can also help. Check out both the private Facebook group, Christian Moms with Grace, and the free “Grace-Filled Stress Relief” Bible study this post is a part of.
