I was praying this morning and it was a wonderful time of just me and the Lord. During the school year, our schedule can be so harried. I know I control that schedule, but I think that's the reason for summer. The Lord arrests my attention and helps me back on track.
Our pastor used Psalms 46:10 in his sermon this week, "Be still and know that I am God." How many times are we still? I find myself reaching for my iPhone or iPad when I have free time to check emails, weather, news, play Solitaire... Really? It's no wonder my children need to learn to be still. That's something we've been working on. If they are used to watching movies or playing video games, how will they learn to be still before the Lord...to hear his still small voice?
We've been fishing this last week and it's reminded me of the stillness in nature. We were on the dock by 6:30am on Mother's Day morning. Jeff and the boys had some new gear from Bass Pro Shop and were ready to test it out to catch a whopper of a fish!
Kate and I snuggled into our chairs. I wasn't quite as eager to fish, but wanted to relax and enjoy the scenery. Before I knew it, I had dozed off. It was silent. After probably 20 minutes I woke up to Jeff saying, "Shh, Mom's sleeping." For those 20 minutes, no one said anything. I was sleeping. Jeff, Kate, and the boys were each occupied with their thoughts. What a peaceful time!
I've been sending the boys to their rooms for their individual time with the Lord. They each have devotionals they read, their Bibles, and then they pray. It's not long, maybe 15 minutes, but it gives them the opportunity to be still. Zach is at the age where he has been having his time with the Lord when he wakes up. Love that!
They also read each day. Mine aren't big readers on their own. Of course, once they get into a book it's hard for them to stop, but I'm usually prompting them. One day, I'm hoping that won't be necessary.
Reading helps their bodies be still. Their minds are working and processing all the thoughts and ideas.
So, after praying this morning, I have a plan for the summer. We are a three part being: spirit, soul, and body. There are 24 hours in a day, and my kids are usually awake from roughly 7:00am - 10:00pm (Kate sleeps later and goes to bed earlier). I proposed to them this morning that we will be spending 1 hour on each of our parts. One hour developing our spirits. That will include memorizing the books of the Bible, scripture memory, and bible reading. One hour developing our souls. Our souls consists of our mind, will, and emotions so this will include learning, reading, etc. One hour will be spent developing our bodies. This can be running, walking, golfing, etc. They will still have 12 hours in each day for other activities. We start today!
Ask me in one month how we're doing...
