Quiet Time {Starting Them Young}

As most of you know,  I'm known for running my home very much like my classroom. And yes, I usually get teased for it.  I've always been teacher-minded and it carries over to my own kids at home. Especially during the summer. I'm by no means an "anti-TV" mom. In fact, I love the "Junior" channels that are on TV now. I find them quite refreshing and educational. That being said, I hate to think of my kiddos having no sort of schedule and just sitting in front of a TV, iPad or other electronic device all summer. So...I create a schedule for us to go by. Do I always go by it? No. Is it a huge deal of we get "off schedule?" No way! But it helps give me a guideline. I do it to hold myself accountable more than anything. To be honest, I find myself several times a day *wasting* my life {and my kid's lives} away on Facebook, Instagram or any other social media site. What is the best use of my time?

1) Time alone with my kids. Quality time with my kids.
2) Quiet time with my Heavenly Father. Quality time with my Heavenly Father.

Not necessarily in that order, but these are my two main focuses of the summer, and everyday thereafter. So, I decided to combine the two as best as I could. I did include a "quiet time" part to our day.

Which by the way, if you want to use these same amazing cards, you can head over to TpT (teacherspayteachers.com) and find them here. I love Cara Carroll! She's amazing! I just did a little picking and choosing of the ones I wanted to use and modified them to our day. There are several cards that I keep in an envelope on my fridge to substitute in on the days we have something special. For example, field trip, swimming, library, play date, etc.

I'm using the "quiet time" card for Annabelle and Landree to have some of their own quiet time with Jesus, themselves. I found an amazing website on pinterest that gives suggestions for little ones to have their own successful quiet time. I found it on pinterest, but here's the link to it. I love it! They suggest putting together a tub of different children's bible literature, along with Bible coloring pages. I even thought about throwing in our "Little People" biblical characters for some imaginative play. I found this book on amazon (click the picture to take you to amazon).

It includes a coloring page for each bible story and a small blurb on the back telling the moral of the story. I'm hoping to find the same story in our story bible at home. Read it from there, then give her the page to color for her quiet time each day, as well as other kinds of children's bible literature to look through. My girls can't read yet, so this quiet time is very basic, but it's still getting them started having that one on one time alone with God each day.

Quiet time is something I feel very convicted about. I'm not always very good at it, but something I love from the site I mentioned, is they say the best way to get your kiddos to start having quiet time is for them to see YOU having quiet time. This has encouraged me to have my own quiet time the same time they have theirs. Setting that example is probably the best way to help them be successful at it.  I hope it will hold me accountable, too.

I {often} have a hard time putting down my phone and picking up The Word instead. This is something I'm praying about and trying desperately to be better at. I'm hoping integrating it into our daily routine will help instill that, now, and my girls will continue it as they get older.

It seems like we have so much in our face all the time. We are so connected to EVERYONE constantly. We know what people that we haven't personally talked to in years, are doing in their daily lives. I'm so guilty of being connected to my friends and acquaintances more than I'm connected to Jesus and His Word. Hoping to change this, this summer. Hoping my girls will grasp as much as they can, of just how important it is to get in The Word.

Thanks for letting me share my heart. If there is anything I can pray for you about, please let me know. It would be an honor to pray for you.