No Need to Be at Your Whit’s End When It Comes to Family Devotions

Most families, I reckon, struggle with family devotions. In the busyness of life, finding a good devotional that spans the age ranges and interest of their families and disciplining themselves to do them each day seems quite an obstacle to overcome. However, I found these devotions to be so enjoyable for the family that my youngest child often retrieves the book and makes sure that we do the latest one.

Whit’s End Mealtime Devotions is a surprisingly small book. After all, it does contain 90 devotions! The positive thing about this is that it doesn’t take up much room on the bookshelf.

True to the effort put into all Focus on the Family/Adventures in Odyssey products, the cover art is superb. It features a family of four sitting around a dinner table with an open Bible. A depiction of Mr. Whittaker, an affable and wise character in the Adventures in Odyssey series, also graces the cover. The primary color is a glossy red.

Inside are three categories of devotions. Unlike most devotionals, the “Any Day Mealtime Devotions” are not targeted to specific days. This allows a busy family to do the devotions whenever it works for them without fear of falling behind or having to skip since they can bookmark where they left off from the last time. The parent, or whoever is in charge of the devotion, should note the sections labeled “Holiday Devotions” and “Theme Devotions.” Various special days such as Mother’s Day or Christmas have a specific devotion attached to them. Theme devotions add an element of fun to the devotional time as the family is asked to act something out or dress in a certain way.

The approach of this devotional is unique. It is full of opportunities to interact for each family member. In addition, it seeks to take the Bible stories and/or passages and show how relevant they are to lives today. I would heartily recommend it.


Tyndale House Publishers has provided me with a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes