The Gift of Full Attention

"Mom!... Watch me!"

I sweep the crumbs into my hand, toss them in the sink in a quick pass towards the washing machine. I glance into the living room where The Middle is grinning and spinning herself into a happy mess.

The Little follows suit and it becomes a somewhat dangerous dizzying game of avoid-the-imminent-crash. "I will... just a second... I'm watching babe..." I rotate laundry. "... good job!"

"No. Mom. Watch."

I stop at her tone. The one that lays bare that she's not fooled. She is standing still, smile suspended, waiting for eye contact.



And it hurts. This realization that again I've been too busy to adore her being little, her growing up.

There is more than dirty laundry and stacked dishes and sticky floors that won't always be here.





Why do I forget these spinning princesses won't last forever? Why do I forget the importance of the gift of full attention? 

I commit again that I won't set the example love-debt. I stop. I make eye contact. I kneel down.

I smile into all this temporary glory especially for me. "I'm watching." 

Her face lights and there is always grace to begin again. 

But Have Not Love: Parenting (Free Printables)

Parenting is hard and I fail often. 




 I need to remember what remains.










Maybe reminders help you, too?

He never fails.

He is Love.

And Love is the greatest of all. 

Simply click the links below for the free printables!



                  Teach the Language of Love (Printable)




                                 
                                He Never Fails (Printable)

Only Love Remains (Printable)

Every time this soaks in... I am deeply encouraged... :

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart; he gently leads those that have young."
~Isaiah 40:11

What We Need to Teach Our Children Before They are Grown

If I teach them phonics and grammar and spelling in multiple languages, but don’t set the example of speaking in patience and kindness, not in rude or proud ways... I am only a resounding gong or a clanging symbol. 

 
If I set the example of how to keep a clean house and how to understand all the world’s other mysteries, and how to know what to say and do in each situation, and if I show them I have enough faith to move mountains, but I am self-seeking, easily angered, and mentally keeping a list of the wrongs done to me... I am nothing.

 
If I display how to give sacrificially, even being willing to die for a cause, but don’t show them that my joy is because of the Truth, that He is why I’m always hoping, always trusting, always persevering, I gain nothing.
He. Never. Fails. 

 
All life phases will cease, be stilled, pass away.
To teach what will remain: love.
The greatest of all is Love.
And He never fails.

Free printable of this coming tomorrow... because I need to remember these truths about parenting.

What Do You Remember from Your Childhood?

I don't remember much from my childhood. 

Flipping through photo albums can help re-create the moments somewhat, but I don't "feel" a lot of the memories.

I do have some memories I feel. Some are very painful. Some are so painful I can acutely remember how my cheeks flushed hot with embarrassment and I can feel that lump in my throat and my desperation not to cry. I can remember exact expressions, words, the way someone was standing, the tone they used.

Some memories are very beautiful, holy, profound. I can remember the love and sacrifice to communicate that my life was valuable in that late night talk, the song being sung that pierced my soul with Truth, and the lamplight falling across Emberoks and my father's voice reading when all us nine crazy kids begged "just one more chapter please, Dad?...". 

But they are only moments that I remember. Mere minutes from all those years.   

I wonder: What will my children remember? 















That's why this book I've been reading, "Just a Minute", is changing the way I parent. It's changing the way I interact with other people's children. It's also changing the way I treat adults... because aren't we just those kids somehow grown up? When did we become the parents, teachers, role models? It happened so fast.



Wes Stafford uses the metaphor of a child's spirit being "a lot like wet cement or moist clay...". They are so impressionable, just waiting for an act of kindness or a word of encouragement. He writes "I have become convinced that if God stands a child before you, for even just a minute, it is a divine appointment." 

The book is perfect for anyone who wants to absorb deep truths but doesn't have the time or brainpower to delve into Ravi Zacharias' apologetics or George MacDonald's unspoken sermons. If I have to re-read something three times before I understand it, I will probably be asleep before I make it past a paragraph. This is just my "young mom" phase of life---someday I look forward to reading the thick books of the great thinkers but for now these short stories with powerful truths in "Just a Minute" are perfect for me.  

The stories are divided into seven different sections:

Section 1: A Moment for Rescue
Section 2: A Moment to Build Self-Worth
Section 3: A Moment to Form Character
Section 4: A Moment to Discover Talent
Section 5: A Moment to Awaken the Spirit
Section 6: A Moment to Stretch the Mind
Section 7: A Moment to Realize One's Calling 


Part of the back cover reads "Read on for story after powerful story of lives changed because someone took just a minute to really connect in the life of a child. Stay alert---you never know when your opportunity will come."

Let us be light and give hope and encouragement to every. single. person. we. meet.


"You are all sons of the light and sons of the day. We do not belong to the night or to the darkness. So then, let us not be like others, who are asleep, but let us be alert and self-controlled."
~1 Thessalonians 5:5-6


What books have impacted the way you parent, treat children, treat adults? Please share in the comments!



**the links for the book are affiliate links. I only recommend books and products that I personally use and would love to give to each and every one of you.**

If You're at a Loss About What to Do First

She stands there, hands on her hips, looking into the other room and out the windows and nowhere, really. I can see her thoughts trying to drag her off, pulling in different directions.

There's no denying it: I am my mother's daughter.

It's early morning, and some are still sleeping, but to-do lists are unfeeling things that begin their nagging abuse some days before the eyes have even opened. 



"Mom?"

She looks my way, smiles at me. I smile back at her twinge of sleepiness that made her lips curl slow and gentle.

I place a fluffy bagel, warm-toasted and buttered, on a plate and begin to slather a generous layer of cream cheese. "Mom... come and have breakfast first."

She still stands, her expression an amused question.

I continue. "I can tell you're thinking about the million things you have to do... all the things you need and want to do..." I pour smoothie into mugs, place one of the table for her, one for me. "... but come and have breakfast first."

She gives her little Mom-laugh and sighs a surrender and comes to the table. "I'm just not sure where to begin."

I nod as I fork the sage-seasoned sausages in the toaster oven and slip them next to the bagel halves. "I know. I feel like that most days. But I read something interesting this morning...

... I read about when Jesus kept asking Peter if he loved Him, and telling Peter to feed and take care of His lambs, how He was telling Peter to follow Him and about how Peter would die bringing glory to God. And Peter asked Jesus if John would die serving Him, too. Jesus told Him not to focus on that, but that he must follow Him regardless of what He asked of others."

Mom nods, listening, absorbing.

"But do you know what Jesus said to Peter first?... before He told Peter to serve others as love for Him and to follow Him and that he would die for Him?... First He said 'come and have breakfast.'" I smile right into her beautiful eyes, two to-do lists addicts slowing down for nourishment first.

Mom laughs, nods, sips smoothie slowly, and we embrace and enjoy this ordinary, extraordinary grace of communion at the table while the sun is rising higher.







I tell her I'm so comforted that He knows all about long nights full of disappointment.

He knows how to provide everything we need and more than what we hoped, and not tear everything apart in the process. He doesn't ignore or belittle our physical needs that He gave us. 

He will talk to us about serving Him and others... I just love that it was after they had finished eating that He began this conversation with Peter. Sometimes I just need to remember to "come and have breakfast" first. 

I can forget that communion with Him is the ultimate goal on my to-do list. 

So before running ragged and trying to get beyond the feeling of treading water but getting nowhere... sit with Him? Eat and talk with Him?

The days are long and life is hard and we can not live by bread alone but sometimes eating some bread can help a lot. Both kinds of nourishment are from His hands.

Come and have breakfast. 

And if you don't have it in you? You don't have anything to offer? He calls you friend. He knows your condition. He will supply everything needed. He just says "come". 




What about you, friend? Have you found that taking care of your physical needs makes you more able to serve Christ? Are you ever tempted to skip essential things like eating, sleeping, etc. because you feel hounded by a to-do list?