Time is more important.

Well once again the Lord has been hitting me over the head with the idea that I am not perfect! ;) This time it is about being a mom. I love my kids, I love their thoughts, and smiles, and games. But lately I have not taken the time to be with them. I am on the computer or working on something that I think is more important. This is hard for me to give up. I think that I find great purpose in working on my little projects for their school plan or for Church. Not that these things are bad or that I don't need to do them, just that I have lost balance. I so worried about doing them, that I am not taking the time to read or play or talk much with my kids! Yikes that sounds awful when its actually written out. This is something though that I am glad that the Lord has brought to my attention. I needed to see it. I think Its been a problem for a little while and could be part of the problem with behavior in them (they are looking for attention) and grouchy in me (i am not doing what I am supposed to be doing). So it is now time to practice what I preach. I need to respect my kids enough to get off the computer and interact with them as people. I need to apologize for that too. I read an article today about how we don't admit our own faults to our kids. When we yell at them (yes I do that sometimes) do we take the time to apologize for that unacceptable behavior? I don't always remember to do that. I have been working so hard here to find a good way for the girls to handle their emotion in a healthy way, but if I don't admit that I need to work on that too, then ho will they learn it right? I need to model the behavior that I want them to learn. So I think that something God is really leading me to is to make a prayer table (or in the Montessori world at peace table) in my home. Not as a way to replace timeouts or anything like that (there is a place for timeouts I think), but as a place for the girls and I to go when we are stressed, angry, or need a moment. I want them to calm down and talk, not just by themselves, but with God too. He should be a part of the process. I want them to handle emotion properly, but they cant do it alone (I never have at any rate). I want them to find it second nature to sit with God when they need help or are happy or are angry. I want them to feel at a young age that he is there as their friend. I think this will help. It can also be a place for me to pray and reflect. I'm not sure yet where this space will be, but I have an idea. I have some small chairs that the girls love to sit in, so I think that I will sew a small bag for the back of it to put their journals and prayer books in there. I want a statue of the Good Shepherd there too, so they can remember that God is with them. I will have to work on that this weekend! I am hoping that this will bring us all a little closer to God and each other!

What do yo do with your kids to help become better people?