It’s summer! For most of my readers that doesn’t mean much since they’re homeschooling their children and home all day most days. For a few of my non-homeschooling friends it could mean 3 months of ~ what are we gonna do all day?!
Suggestion for all of us? Get to know your children!
Okay, why the snicker?? Sure – you’re “mom” so you know what food they dislike, what they’re allergic to, what shows they love, and the bedtime ritual. Some of us even have code words. I bet we can all ramble off a long list of what chores they forget to do every week … yes, the dog has to be fed every day!
My friends know my son. I know my friend’s kids and their little interesting habits. You can serve in any Sunday School room and know those children. That’s not what I’m talking about.
Get to know your children!
God has created some amazing little people under your roof, but sitting here reading my blog isn’t going to help you get to know your children. Sure there are articles and blog posts that help us identify rashes and moles and pneumonia symptoms and allergy reactions and healthy meal recipes … but only time and interest in our children will truly open our eyes to their glorious design.
Do you know your child’s love language(s)? Do you know their learning style? Do you know their spiritual gifts? Do you know their character strengths … and weaknesses? <~ and not the ones that annoy us but really ones we can help work together to overcome.
I was emailing a long distance friend the other day. We exchanged jokes about the VBS Hoppers (moms who sign their kids up for every VBS in town just for free daycare). She shared her desire to go against the norm in her neighborhood to enroll her child into every summer camp available.
I laughed. But I wonder, what good keeping our children home yet waste time preoccupied with other things that matter little.
Heidi St. John shares this slide – It’s not time management. It’s me management. What are your top five time bandits? Rather than looking at them just as my distractions or selfish indulgences … maybe we could ask ourselves: what is robbing my children of my attention?
Are we brave enough to ask that, because really I don’t like that question. I’m a blogger. My natural tendency is to think up creative ways to keep you interested to read my blog more. I’m also somewhat of a virtual assistant for another blogger and I get paid to sit at my computer. Computer time isn’t “bad”, but when it’s more important than knowing our children … Anything that steals our attention from our priority as mom is dangerous and we have to see it as such. Drastic? Maybe! I’d rather err on this side.
We lost our 19 year old cousin in a head on car crash 7 years ago this June. You can bet her mother would give the world for just a bit more time with her. I pray none of us will walk that road. But I do pray it gives us perspective on the things that matter most.
Lord, I praise you for the family you have blessed me with to love. Please help me to identify the things in my life right now that are keeping me from being a good steward of my time. Please break any chains of bondage that I have allowed myself to wear or unknowingly wear. Please open my eyes to see my children the way You have created them. Help me to love them the way You want them to be loved. Give me a peaceful heart and honest intentions. Let me be slow with them so we can build our relationship for long past these parenting years and create healthy memories of their childhood. Thank You for loving me and being here with me to guide me as their mother. Amen
