“Do not love sleep or you will grow poor;
    stay awake and you will have food to spare.”

At first, we were reminded of the sluggard and the farmer who ‘doesn’t plow in season’, 20:4.  We spent some time talking about the ways we love sleep.  My youngest is a big fan and usually is the last one up in the morning.  Specifically, we focused on ways that bring no increase to our lives.  Even though we need the rest sleep gives, in the light of other proverbs about the sluggard, we understood this idea of the love of sleep as bringing nothing beneficial to our lives.  My kids brought up video games which absorb hours of life with nothing to show for it.  Besides being entertained for the time invested, I couldn’t really argue.  Their point was valid.  We live in a culture addicted to entertainment, some good and helpful, but most not.  My kids already talk about looking back on their past and wanting to see more than a list of video games that they beat.

Then we focused on how Jesus fulfilled this proverb and we were immediately swept up in the imagery of sleep from the prophets of old, the mouthpieces of God.  Isaiah 60:1 speaks to a despondent nation due to their disobedience to the laws of God.  A Hope is given, one that comes to fulfill what the hearts of man cannot,

“Arise, shine, for your light has come,
    and the glory of the Lord rises upon you.”

The apostle Paul speaks again of this in the complete fulfillment of God’s plan, Ephesians 5.  Jesus comes to bring light to our darkened lives, a light fulfilled by the Holy One of God.

“But everything exposed by the light becomes visible—and everything that is illuminated becomes a light. This is why it is said:

“Wake up, sleeper,
    rise from the dead,
    and Christ will shine on you.”

Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil.”

Sometimes, like my son, we need help to wake up.  Praise be to our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, who alone is the Light that wakes us from our sleep.  May we awaken to the vast treasures that “can never perish, spoil, or fade”, 1 Peter 1:4, kept in heaven for us.

For the last five years, I’ve been trying to create a devotional time for my family that honors God and is fun for my family. I called our time together with Him, Spiritfire.  We would gather in a circle around the ‘fire’ of His presence, and invite Him to join us.  I’ve used puppets and stuffed animals to get my children’s interest and attention, and designed times for them to run, jump, and yell a saying of power that will help them throughout their lives.
 
An integral part of our family’s Spiritfire experience is to begin it with prayer, followed by the statement of power:  “I am a child of God!  He loves me, so I love me!”  With this simple but potent statement, we align ourselves with His heart and plan for our lives.  It helps us to see more clearly what we are to avoid as well as what we are to regard as beneficial in this life.  After we shout this foundational declaration, we enter into a time of sharing our S.M.O.T.’s- our Special Moment Of Today, that we are thankful for.  Again, this helps us to see and acknowledge His activity in our daily lives.  Yes, it’s fun for my kids to say S.M.O.T., (sounds like ’snot’).  Keeping ‘fun’ part of Spiritfire helps it to remain a vital time for my family.

For the next part, we reflect on His Word.  I usually lead this segment with the same script, “God has given each of us a key, and with this key, you, only you, can use it to open a secret hidden room filled with treasure!  Mountains and mountains of treasure!  Gold, silver, rubies, emeralds, diamonds!”  At this point, my daughter yells, “Pink!” because that’s what she wants her treasure room filled with.  I then resume the script entering into a question/answer time, “Who wants to add more treasure to their treasure room?”  After all of the “me’s!”, I agree that I do too.   Then I say, “Good, because I happen to have a book here called…” My kids respond, “The Book of Proverbs!” I follow with, “Written by…”  And my kids supply the answer, “King Solomon!”  Me again, “To train…”  My kids, “Kings and Queens!”  Me again, “Now in the book of Proverbs, there is something worth more than all the treasure in the world.  What is it?”  My kids shout it, “Wisdom!”  Then I ask a question to prove it, “Can you make a tree out of gold?”  Kids, “No!”  Me, “What does the Bible say that God made the world with?”  Kids, “Wisdom!”  Me, “Now, in Wisdom, how many houses are there?”  Kids, “Three!”  Me, “What are they?”  Kids, “Wisdom’s, Folly’s, and Imposters!”  Me, “Who lives at Wisdom’s house?”  Kids, “The righteous!”  Me, “Who lives at Folly’s?”  Kids, “The wicked and dead!”  Me, “Who lives at the Imposters house?”  Then the race is off to say all five members first, “Violent man, perverse man, gossip, scoundrel, and sluggard!”

At this point, we read the proverb.  First, we try to address what the proverb is saying on the material plane, then we look for how Jesus fulfilled it beyond our ability to obey.  I’ve tried to share some of these here that the Holy Spirit has given my family.  Afterward, we then receive the seed of wisdom each proverb provides.  I explain the following, “For at the center of our treasure rooms lie the garden of our hearts, souls, and minds, whose Gardener is the Holy Spirit.”  We take this seed of Wisdom and plant it firmly and deeply into that sacred garden and ask the Gardener to multiply it to a mighty harvest.

That is a fuller picture of what we do.  If any of it helps you and your family or gives you ideas, amen.  I will continue to share our Spiritfires here to help develop what we do so that it may help others who may want to do something similar and have their own family times with God.