Our house is loud: three kids, two dogs, homework battles, and a schedule that feels like it’s held together with duct tape and prayer. For years, we tried teaching our kids about Jesus through bedtime talks and Sunday devotionals, but honestly, most of it went in one ear and out the other.
One day, after an especially chaotic week, my husband and I looked at each other and said, “They’re not going to learn love from lectures, they’re going to learn it from life.”
So, we started something we call Saturday Serve Days.
Every Saturday morning, we gather in the kitchen and pick one small act of kindness we can do together. Nothing complicated. Nothing glamorous. Just something that blesses someone else.
One week we mow an elderly neighbor’s yard. Another week we deliver a meal to a single mom. Sometimes we write cards for the nursing home, or pick up trash at the park, or visit a widow who just needs company.
At first, the kids complained. Loudly. But something shifted.
One Saturday, after delivering a meal to a family going through a hard time, our middle child said, “I like how this makes my heart feel.” That’s when I knew it was working. Not because we were teaching them, but because God was shaping them.
Our motto became: Serving others keeps our hearts connected.
Connected to God. Connected to each other. Connected to the world outside our front door.
The more we served, the more we noticed our kids changing; fewer arguments, more awareness, more compassion, more joy, and honestly, my husband and I changed, too. We stopped rushing through life and started seeing people again.
We don’t post about it. We don’t make it a show. We just try to be a family that pays attention. A family that asks “Who needs love today?” and then goes.
Saturday Serve Days are now my favorite part of the week. They remind me that faith isn’t something we just teach. It’s something we practice with our hands, our feet and our presence.
And I’m grateful our kids get to learn that early.
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