Building Spiritual Habits in the Home: Small Steps You Can Take Today

by Chris Pappalardo, Clayton Greene

From good intentions to actual practice—simple spiritual habits for your home.

We want our homes to be blessings, refuges, places of vibrant faith. And we want our love for Jesus to be discovered and developed in our children. But many of us feel like we’re just not cutting it. Maybe you’ve read books, listened to podcasts, or tried different life hacks, only to feel defeated. Your attempts have fallen flat or fizzled out.

In Developing Spiritual Habits in the Home, entrepreneurs and dads, Chris Pappalardo and Clayton Greene, show how that can change. Chris and Clayton share the seven key shifts that translate good intentions into actual practice. They reveal how their homes changed—and how yours can too. Looking to the wisdom of Scripture, these dads teach you how to apply lasting faith practices to your family, your home, your life.

Are you ready? With just seven simple shifts to your spiritual habits, you can develop a spiritual life that will last—helping you (and your children, and your neighbors, and your co-workers)—engage with God and each other.

Genres: Christian Living, Faith

176 pages, Paperback

Published January 7, 2025

Reviews

[Sojourning Hope · Rating 4 out of 5]

Chris Pappalardo’s Building Spiritual Habits in the Home doesn’t break new ground in the realm of habit formation, but it shines in its ability to weave a compelling, biblically rooted framework for cultivating discipline. Pappalardo’s strength lies in his approachable and digestible presentation, making spiritual growth feel less daunting and more attainable. He leans heavily on the idea that small, consistent steps—grounded in faith—can lead to lasting transformation. The book’s lack of groundbreaking insights is overshadowed by its practical wisdom, offering readers a gentle nudge toward sustainable change rather than overwhelming them with lofty expectations.

One standout illustration Pappalardo uses is the story of a person aiming to lose weight who, in the early stages, simply drives to the gym and sits in the parking lot. This absurdly simple goal—achieved just by showing up—evolves naturally over time, as the individual thinks, “I’m here already. Why not go in and work out?” This encapsulates the book’s core message: set goals so ridiculously easy that success becomes inevitable, building a foundation for lifelong habits. While it may not dazzle with originality, Building Spiritual Habits in the Home excels as a steady, encouraging guide for anyone seeking to align their daily routines with spiritual purpose.

[Taliah Kendrick]

Don’t let the title fool you—this book isn’t just for parents. I assumed it was solely for families, but it’s actually a practical and refreshing guide to spiritual habits for anyone.

Part one lays the foundation of who God is and what spiritual habits are. Part two walks you through six clear steps for building those habits in your life. Each chapter ends with a “Small Steps You Can Take Today” section, with ideas for both individuals and families.

One of my favorite takeaways was the reminder that God is the one who begins the work—and he also finishes it. I think this one has moved into my favorites on the topic of spiritual habits, especially because of the emphasis they place on making spiritual habits accessible for everyone. Highly recommend!

[Ben · Rating 5 out of 5]

Audiobook.
The authors took principles from habit science and applied the effectively and faithfully to spiritual disciplines. Starting a new spiritual habit is:
1) Easy. Make it something easier than you think it should be (e.g. read one chapter)
2) Tangible
3) Set the Place
4) Set the Time
5) Make it Fun
6) Do it with Friends

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

Lots of great encouragement to start a new spiritual habit. Especially liked the last chapter that failure will happen, just "start again". Was hoping it would be geared more towards helping kids, as a family, start their own habits, but it's more focused on adults. Appreciated the humor in it and the kindness in the writing.

[Matt · Rating 4 out of 5]

As a Christian and a psychiatrist, I really enjoyed the way these two men from Summit Church applied Biblical principles to the science of behavior change and applied that science to healthy spiritual practices.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

Loved this read! It’s simple and practical and deep all in one. Highly recommend!

[Huijessica · Rating 5 out of 5]

I will give it 5 stars because it was pretty life changing and it helped me pray more for sure.

[T.K. CHAPMAN · Rating 5 out of 5]

I was a little undecided whether four or five stars for this one. What this book does is combine spiritual habits (disciplines, practices, whatever you prefer to call them) with the science of habit formation. I love reading about both of those things, so I was really looking forward to this read. If you've read much about habit formation, you'll find familiar information here, but the idea of applying habit formation science to our discipleship efforts has not been explored as often.
If you're not familiar with habit formation lit, there's enough of an intro in the book to get you going. The authors give plenty of advice and ideas for implementing all this for individuals, as well as for families with young children. That's a real plus for this book, and would be helpful for the parent that feels overwhelmed by the thought of discipleship practices at home.