No Time Wasted

Today was the first Saturday in about two months that I have actually been able to spend with my family.

With volunteering and serving at Spiritual Twist Production and Carl and the boys doing football it has just seemed like our paths have crossed in the night. I would get home from rehearsal or classes and he would get home about the same time from football. We would then proceed to try to get all of our children to bed at a decent hour. We failed miserably because we wanted to spend time with them before bed. The house some nights would only get quiet about 11:30 or 12:00. That would cause us all to sleep in. Everyone except my dear husband, who still had to get up and go into work at a decent hour. With an hour commute to Fort Bragg it was an early morning for him.

Daniel gets up with him and they have coffee and breakfast together before he goes to work. Esther and I have been trying to get up the past few weeks to do our devotions together. Between the play and football and dealing with sickness, we have failed miserably. I have learned though that this is just a time of busyness for our family. God called us to football and Empowered and he gave us the strength to do both. It was hard trying to balance all of our schedules but God made us all stronger and I think we all grew closer to God.

With the play over and football ending we should be able to get back into somewhat of a normal schedule. I am looking forward to spending time with all my children and my husband. And that leads me to today.

We woke up VERY early and piled in the car. It was CHAMPIONSHIP FOOTBALL DAY. Our mighty mites made it into the playoffs. They were so excited and were very glad that I was finally able to come to a game. We drove two hours to Forsythe County, North Carolina. The boys played well but ended up losing. The team they were playing against was much bigger and just played better. My boys played with integrity and I was so proud of them.

While in the car after the game trying to warm up I got curious to see if the NC Zoo was close by. Since it was only about 11:30 I thought it might be nice to go for visit. We have a membership to the Aquarium which gets us into the Zoo for free. I mentioned it to Carl and when he punched home into the GPS he actually discovered that one of the suggested routes home took us past the Zoo. So off we went after eating our lunch in the van.

Some of the boys protested until we told them that the Zoo closes at 4 today and with the drive home we would still have the evening free. Once we arrived, Carl decided to let the 3 older boys go off on their own while he and I took the other 5 through the Zoo. We had a great time with the kids excitedly running from exhibit to exhibit. They loved the Kids Zone area which had a huge playground. We splurged and got a little snack and then headed back to get the older boys. We all had a great time. It was so nice to spend time with my family. It was so much fun and reminded me of the special times we had on our cross-country trip. Such wonderful memories.

While on the drive home we were able to listen to good worship music, and some Dear Evan Hansen, and I was able to catch up a little in my book. I have fallen behind but am trying to get back on track. It was a good day. A refreshing day. A day full of memoires with my family.

It made me realize that any time that I have with my family is not wasted. Taking Alex out for a soda and talking about our books. Participating in a play with William. Discussing a lot of football with Nathan. Shopping trips with Esther. Late night book reading to Daniel. Directing the class that Sam is in. Taking the time to stop what I am doing to give Caleb about 50 hugs a day. Snuggling and watching cooking shows with Tirzah. None of that time is wasted. None. Every second of the day I am tying heartstrings with my children. I am pouring the love of Christ into them, so they learn how to pour into other people's lives. And that means I have to be full of the love of Jesus.

I need to make sure my relationship with the Lord is vibrant and flourishing before I can teach my children anything about who Jesus is and about the power of the Holy Spirit. The time I take to do devotions and pray and worship and spend time with the Lord is NOT wasted because it makes me a better mother and wife. Time to get away and reconnect with the Lord is vital for us all. Even if that means going to the local Sheetz or coffee shop and grabbing a soda or coffee for 15-20 minutes with headphones and Bible. I have done that. Even if it means getting in the car and driving around for 30 minutes praising the Lord in song or just pouring your heart out to the Lord. I have done that, too. Even if it means a weekend away to reconnect with the Lord. I have done that. Even if it means going away with Carl on a romantic weekend. Loving my husband and working on my relationship with him also makes me a better mother. Any time I spend with my Lord most definitely makes me a better mother.

My lovely day ended with a nice chicken and rice dinner that I had put in the crock pot this morning. Esther made delicious chocolate chip cookies. Football is currently on with the boys watching Virginia Tech and Miami. We are a Hokie family as Carl graduated from Virginia Tech.

I am truly grateful for the wonderful day I had with my family. I was reminded that any time I spend with my family is never wasted. Even when watching football and eating chocolate chip cookies. Even impromptu zoo trips. I want to cherish every moment I have with the family that God has blessed me with. I don't want to waste a single second of my time with them.