You know that typical scene where a mom picks up her tween-age daughter from school, she plops in the front seat, says, “Hey” and then puts on her headphones and closes her eyes? Or the one where the mom says, “So, how was school?” and the son responds with, “Fine. What’s for dinner?”

I don’t want that to be typical at my house. I want my kids to talk to me. More than that, I want my kids to feel like their feelings and ideas are important and valued. I want them to know that what they say is important and what they feel is valid.

It’s just a hunch, but I think it’s up to me. I think I have to talk to my kids and encourage them to talk to me. So, although my kids are young and I don’t have a lot of experience with iPod-toting tweens, I am hoping to lay the foundation for open communication now!

One of the best ways I’ve experienced (and heard from parents older and wiser than me) is by maximizing…

{Maximizing what? What is it? I know, the suspense is killing you! Come on, click over to my full post at Family Your Way to see how to effectively communicate with your kids!}

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

 

This is my kids at lunch today. They asked if they could get their fold up chairs out of the basement and have a picnic outside. They are also eating peanutbutter-and-jelly sandwiches with brussel sprouts. That’s gotta be the most incongruous meal ever.

I just love how they love hanging out with each other and making up their own little games and adventures. *sigh* I could eat them with a spoon.

And now the Bible story…

On the way home from Trader Joe’s/Target/WalMart today we were discussing Asa’s birthday party coming up in September. This led us to me telling the kids Asa’s birth story. (It was kinda exciting if you wanna read it!) Then I told them that we hadn’t picked Asa’s middle name until after he was born. I remember writing a list of possible names on some of the paperwork from the hospital!

So, I told them the story of the man who’s name we finally did choose as Asa’s middle: Nathanael. At the beginning of Jesus’ earthy ministry, he is going around recruiting his disciples. He talks to Phillip who gets so excited he runs to his friend Nathanael and says, “We found him! The one the prophets told us about! His name is Jesus from Nazareth!”

Nathanael replies, “Nazareth? What good can come from Nazareth?”

Phillip tells Nathanael to come and see for himself. So Nathanael does. The second he sees Nathanael Jesus says, “Now here is a genuine son of Israel—a man of complete integrity.” (John 1:47) Nathanael is shocked, “How do you know me?”

I can picture Jesus laughing here, the way a grown-up laughs at the naivete of a child, “I saw you under the fig tree before Phillip even came to you.” he tells Nathanael.

This impresses Nathanael so much he immediately exclaims, “Rabbi, you are the Son of God—the King of Israel!” Again Jesus laughs (in my imagination) and says, “You believe I’m the Son of God just because I told you I saw you under the fig tree? Brother, you better hang on, because you ain’t seen nothin’ yet!” (<–clearly my translation)

I love this conversation with Nathanael. It’s not a big teachable moment. There’s no sermon-on-the-mount sound bytes. Yet, this first conversation is recorded for a reason.

I think when Jesus said Nathanael was a man of “complete integrity” (or “without guile” some versions say) what he meant (and no, I’m not trying to put words in Jesus’ mouth, it’s just how I understand it) was that Nathanael was a guy who meant what he said and said what he meant. He did what he said and didn’t fool around.

He scoffed at Nazareth, questioned Jesus’ compliment but once Jesus says, “I saw you” Nathanael (figuratively) drops to his knees to recognize Jesus’ true identity.

And this is what I want for my son. I want him to be a man who is full of integrity, open with his heart, his mind and actions. A man who would hear Jesus’ words and immediately bow his knee to what was spoken.

And now the book…

I got excited about Asa’s name all over again after reading Nathanael’s story today. It also reminded me of the book I just finished, Praying Circles Around Your Children by Mark Batterson. (Did you follow my updates on Facebook last week about it?) It’s a little 100-page mini book with some really practical and very inspiring truths about prayer for your kids.

One of Batterson’s ideas is “prayer mantras” which apparently got some people riled up because that sounds so magic-y. But this is far from magic words–this is about finding a verse (or verses) that the Lord would have you pray and speak over your child’s life. And then use those prayers often in your child’s hearing so it will be an anchor, a tether and a plumbline for your kids’ life.

This is one reason my husband and I were so insistent on good names for our kids. Not because of how they sounded, but what they  meant. I want my kids’ names to be a prayer on my lips. And today, I’m excited to pray that my son would be a man of complete integrity who believes in Jesus’ words immediately!

Do you have a special verse you pray for your kids?

Linked to Women Living Well

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***

Every morning I wake up at 6:30. No one else is up. I grab my phone, sometimes my computer and head straight for my closet. It’s not pretty. Seriously. Not. Pretty. But it’s a decent sized space and houses a little canvas box full of books, a Bible, journals and a mechanical pencil or two (and sometimes some marbles and a few stuffed animals, too).

Lately, I’ve been opening up my phone to do a reading plan on the YouVersion app. I read the devotional section and the accompanying Scripture. Then I usually write a note about it, or just copy down the verse in my journal. (Once I heard a story about a Chinese family who copied scripture onto the inside of clothing to send to incarcerated Christians. I have never forgotten that and feel like writing Scripture down wherever I can could be a gift to someone one day. Weird thought, I know.)

Then I usually update Instagram or Facebook or Twitter with the verse I’m reading, or even a picture of what I just wrote in my journal. So other people can copy me? To show off how holy I am? Nope. It’s because there are hundreds of other women getting up early in the morning to do the same thing. We’re keeping each other accountable through these social media platforms.

Having this extra little push to update online might seem shallow or nonspiritual. But it’s the push that’s made me desire spending time with God. It’s the little nudge that has helped me enjoy a full hour of alone time--with my Bible, with my thoughts, with my journal, with the King of Kings.

It’s not always a time of crying and digging up treasure from God’s Word. Sometimes it’s just a simple cup of cold water to start my day. Other times it’s just the act of being awake before my kids.

If I had my way, I’d wake up when I wake up. I’d lay in the bed until I felt ready to roll out of the bed. I’d stumble into the kitchen and slowly make breakfast, sit on the couch with a book and computer until my eyes were awake enough to get into the shower. But I’m pretty sure I won’t get to do that until my kids are teenagers. Or maybe till they move out.

And when I try to do that now, with my 3 and 6 year old, I am the one that ends up having a bad attitude–even before I get out of bed. Because the kids have been up for more than an hour running around my room, making messes in the living room, asking me to get up to make breakfast, whining and complaining while they play unsupervised in the early morning.

When I first started getting up in the morning, I didn’t even spend time with my Bible. I’d head out the door and walk around my neighborhood listening to an audiobook. Then I’d jump in the shower and usually be dressed before my kids woke up. And it felt like a miracle! I was awake enough to speak with love and self-control to them. I sometimes had breakfast cooking before they were all the way awake. I wasn’t aggravated because their noses were pressed to the shower while I was inside. I had an hour of complete silence while I did something I wanted to do!

Waking up early makes me a better mom. I get alone time, I get personal time and I get God-time. It’s one of the best choices I’ve made as an adult. Waking up FOR my kids and not TO them.

If any of this seems like something you need–your household needs, I encourage you to download Inspired to Action’s free ebook, Maximize Your Mornings. It will lead you through a step-by-step plan to waking up–and give you encouragement to WANT to do it. It might change your life, it did for me.

The fall Maximize Your Mornings Challenge (also called #hellomornings) begins August 20th. This is where that online accountability comes in. You can sign up and join a Hello Mornings group and then check in with them every day–on Facebook or Twitter. You can form a group with girls from your church, people you know online, or do what I do–just jump in a group and make new friends! The registration for the Maximize Your Morning Challenge begins today and I’d love for you to join me!

If you wake up early before your kids (especially if it’s not your natural bent) will you leave a comment below and tell us how it benefits you? If you’re a part of #hellomornings, chime in, too! I’d love to see all your faces bright and early this fall!

Linked to The Better Mom and Women Living Well

alarm clock photo source: beth19; all other photos via my instagram

***Impress Your Kids has some new digs at ohAmanda.com! Come visit us there for all the Impress Your Kids archives and all our new posts–including our Easter newsblast with fabulous tips for celebrating a meaningful Easter with your kids!***