Music has always been a huge part of my life. It’s also been deeply significant for my wife, Kerri. In fact, music brought us together. So it should be no surprise that my son also has a love for music.

I vividly remember driving in the car with him when he was around four years old. An R & B song came on the radio and he was hooked. He started wanting to listen only to Motown or R & B—and not just occasionally, but all the time. Granted, we loved it too, but we were shocked by how quickly he became attached to it.

A couple years later, my son began asking us to leave music on as he fell asleep. I could identify with his request because I loved falling asleep to music when I was young. One of my favorite cassette tapes to listen to was a kids worship album called The Music Machine. To this day, I have no idea who sang it, but I could recite every single one of those lyrics for you right now 40 years later! I started to sense that, because my son loved music so much and because he learns lyrics so quickly (as most kids do), it might be a good idea to only allow worship music during bedtime. As a parent, it was soothing to know that the songs being sung over my son while he slept have real meaning and that God would use those bedtime songs to speak truth into him.

As we head into a month overwhelmingly themed with love, think about songs that speak of God’s love for us. Together with your children, take some time to build a playlist of these worship songs. A great place to start would be to see what Bethel, Elevation, or Hillsong has to offer. Also, talk to the worship leader at your church or in your children’s ministry department.

Then, allow your children to listen to these lyrics about God’s love as they fall asleep. Repeat this playlist the following morning as your family prepares to head out for the day. Talk together about what they learned about God by listening to this music. There is no greater joy as a parent than to hear these truths of God’s love naturally flowing out of your kids as they get ready for their day—and my guess would be they too will be able to repeat each lyric even 40 years later!