Fully Aware!

Today I listen to a podcast from Andy Stanley. The whole message was about family. He made a statement that his wife says often "The days are long, the years are short." This really stuck to me like bubble gum sticks to the bottom of your shoe on a hot summer day. That quote really sums up my life! Just this week my darling and I were talking about how we lived in Seguin for 5 years. We are celebrating our 4th year here in Mississippi this summer! It's so strange how time goes by faster as you age. The 5 years we did in Texas seemed sooooo long compared to the time we've been here. It's not that we enjoyed being one place more than the next, I am certain it has to with having Children and us being older. Having Children in school makes the year fly by! Everything you do is based on that school calender year. Your vacations, where you go during the day, the appointments you make. Everything has to coincide with the school. So you operate from August to May instead of Jan- December. I am shocked that the kids are approaching their 100th day mark again! Didn't that just happen last year? Each year goes by so fast. Yet there are some days that seem to never end! How do you figure? Ever have a day that just won't stop? The sun wont set fast enough and you can't get to your bed fast enough? I've looked at the clock at 6:45 pm and thought it was surely 10 pm. Only to be disappointed that it was barely dark. I have days that I can't get everything I want to get done and those days seem to go by fast. There is a Facebook page titled "hands-free revolution" and that page has helped me keep things in preservative when it comes to my children. It encourages you to be fully aware when you are with your children (or others for that matter) I have been guilty of catching up on Facebook while watching a show with my children, or while they play. I think I'm being a supermom because I am multi-tasking. I am able to keep up with friends while I spend time with my family. Then one day it hit me, in a few years I will be the one wanting the kids to spend time with me and put their devices away- talk to me not their friends. I will want to be the important one in the room. I was truly convicted of my behavior. I had justified my phone usage because I'm usually not playing games or "wasting time" but actually encouraging others, or giving of myself to them. There in lies the problem. I am giving of my time to others while my beautiful children sit next to me cuddled up. Oh how these days will be days missed  in the future. The not so distant future. I need to take time to cuddle, take time to laugh- to look at the things my kids ask me to look at. Remind them that I am their biggest fan. Cheer the loudest and encourage the most. There is a time for everything, how do I know that? Well the Word of God tells me in Ephesians. A time for everything....

Ephesians 3:1

There is a time for everything,  and a season for every activity under the heaven,

Right now the time is for my children and for me to embrace them as little ones. For they will never be little again! They will spend more time being an adult than a child! It's my turn to be the influence in their life. I need to be there. Be fully aware. The days may be long- but the years are short.... let it sink it.