5 Bedtime Activities that Create a Better Tomorrow

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Each night when my boys go to bed, we engage in our bedtime ritual. At the Crawford household we are committed to our traditions! This ritual is special to us not only because it’s quality time together, but also it lays the foundation for a better day tomorrow.

There’s no doubt some nights I’m exhausted. I’ll try to back out of one the bedtime activities. But then…

“Dad…” Simon says with that “you’re not getting out of this” look.

“Please, Dad! Please” Landon adds with his cute wink.

“We can’t skip, Dad. It’s tradition!” Simon reminds me.

“You’re right, Si” I smile and get back to the routine.

Even when I’m tired, I won’t deviate; because I know my days of being an active participant in their bedtime activities will be gone.

When that transition happens, I will continue these five bedtime activities because I know it creates a better tomorrow.

I’m aware you may not want to do all five. That’s fine. I simply wanted to share our process because it has been so powerful.

We read. Nothing earth shattering here. But we read. Some nights we read a non-fiction book to expand our knowledge. Some nights we read part of a fiction story to expand our imagination. It might be long. It might be short. I might be in pieces. Regardless we read.

We sing. No, I’m not blessed like my wife with a voice of an angel. But I have fun. We have fun. Some nights we pull up a karaoke song on YouTube. Other nights I sing their favorite song from dad: “Beautiful boy.” Singing brings out creativity and fun.

We reflect. No one has a perfect day. We all have wins, losses, and draws. The key is to learn from the day. I ask my boys four questions:

What did you learn today?

What was the best thing you did?

What did you attempt, but didn’t go well?

What can you learn from these so you can do even better tomorrow?

Simple questions, but powerful when carefully considered.

We study. Each night we read the Bible or read a devotional. We’ll study a passage or a story and then we discuss it. (I really like William Lane Craigs series for kids calledWhat is God Like?) We’ll talk about how to apply it to our lives. I then practice my apologetics training from the two hardest inquisitors around.

We pray. We then close the night in prayer. This is chance for us to confess our sins. Ask for forgiveness. Express thanks for the many blessings. And ask for the opportunity to influence someone’s life tomorrow.

Brian Tracy said “Successful people are simply those with successful habits.” He’s right. Success though is not in relation to the person next to you or the house in which you live. It is in relation to where you began and where you could be.

Be a success in the lives of your family first. The other things will follow. For us, these nightly activities do bring that success.

Question: What rituals do you have to create a better day tomorrow? Share some of your stories!

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