For better or worse, my three kids get a lot of ME during the course of a school week, which means they pick up little bits of me, all day every day - my personality, my values, and my habits - both the ones I genuinely hope to instill in them and the ones I wish I could somehow hide from their sight. It's both a blessing and a curse that children are such observant little sponges!
One particular habit I've been practicing on my own for quite a while is a version of some wisdom shared by a colleague (Thanks, Ste). He has said, "Create before you consume." I've taken this mantra a step further and added, "Create or commune before you consume."
For me, that means the first thing I do after waking and getting my wits about me is to pull my Bible off the bedside table beside me and read from Scripture. I've mentioned it many times now, but the reading plan I'm following and really loving is The Bible Recap with Tara-Leigh Cobble. Check it out if you haven't yet! Last week I finished the entire Old Testament and am now diving into the New. I'm 51 years old, have grown up in the church, and I confess this is the first time in my life I've been this consistent reading God's Word. In fact, I haven't missed a day of reading in 280 days, and that's certainly shocking to me, if no one else. There is something so powerful about inviting God to set the intention and frame my perspective for the day ahead. I'm embracing it, and I'm realizing how much I've been yearning for a difference-maker such as this one.
After I read, I get outside to exercise, listen to the follow up Recap podcast, pray, and think. And so in about an hour, I've communed with God and with nature. And at that point, I return home to commune with my kids and create a home-cooked breakfast to start their day. On rare occasions, I'm able to avoid my phone during this whole time, other than to stream the TBR podcast, but more often I allow myself to get pulled in to email and social media before I really need to do so. It's a daily battle to put first things first and to resist the lure of consuming information and entertainment that typically robs me of joy, time, and productivity. But I do recognize my own progress, and that in itself is incredibly motivating.
So anyway, this new routine is working so well for me that I'm attempting to encourage my children to adopt it, too. We started off our school year with the mantra above, "Create or commune before you consume," and they are slowly catching on! We rarely if ever have the television on during the day, and none of them have iPads or smart phones, so they can't consume in the same ways that I or their peers might; but still there is the laptop, and they will often hunt for my phone to "check the weather," or "research this thing," or "see if there are updates to Google Classroom." Which usually means they are just wasting time on frivolous things and hoping I don't notice. (This goes both ways, by the way. Just being honest).
But now I can't help but smile when my youngest checks on the chickens or takes his skateboard to the driveway before it's breakfast time. My daughter isn't quite so ambitious, but will sometimes sit on the front steps and read, or throw the ball for the dogs before she goes hunting for some mindless distraction. My middle is generally quite content to sit and read on the couch or play with his assortment of action figures and LEGOs, and it can be a struggle to get him outside without some special incentive or invitation. But when he or his siblings do make the effort, they will be sure to inform that, "MOM, I created this magic trick!" Or "MOM, I communed with the dogs!" or "MOM, I'm going to ride my scooter while you take your walk!" What a joy it is for me when they recognize on their own that they have communed or created, or both, and all before they've felt the urge to sit and consume mindless drivel, or even food. And more than that, they truly enjoy the routine!
After everyone is fed, we begin with our "Morning Assembly," which kicks off with family prayer and Bible reading. Schooling my children at home isn't always rainbows and puppies, but it is opportunities like this that make it all worth it - opportunities to teach and model for them what pursuits in life have lasting value and what lifestyle habits will serve them well now and always. Create. Commune. Then consume.
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