Remembering My Priorities

I've been thinking a lot lately about the limited time I've been given with my children. Guiding, nurturing, and loving each of them is my greatest priority, and at times, I find myself really missing the mark. Life is busy, schedules get jam-packed...and with good stuff, but there's so much!..., and quite frankly there are just things that I want to do! And it seems like I'm running out of time to get it all done.

I suppose that's where priorities come into the picture.

One of our middle boys, Jonah (who happens to have a BIRTHDAY tomorrow), challenged me a couple of weeks ago when he mentioned that we hadn't been reading the Bible together anymore. He also asked for help in keeping up with his daily devotionals because he "keeps forgetting." God used my son's tender heart to speak truth to me and lovingly convict me of an area in which I have some room for improvement. Oh, I think I like that term better than the familiar "I failed {again}" because it reminds me of God's patient spirit  with wanderers and stumblers like me.

So my days have once again begun with spiritual reading, contemplating and praying- basically just allowing myself to be fully alive in God's presence- and oh, what a difference it has made! I will never be a perfect mother, but I can definitely be a better Mom! I don't want to look back and ache over all that I missed because my priorities were out of whack.

Teach me your way, O Lord, and I will walk in your truth;

give me an undivided heart, that I may fear your name.

I will praise you, O Lord my God, with all my heart; I will glorify your name forever.

For great is your love toward me; you have delivered me from the depths of the grave.

Psalm 86:11-13

This was part of what we read together this morning- I literally opened up my Bible and there was this passage staring back at me. Whoever says God has no sense of humor doesn't know Him very well.  =)

Have a wonderful, purposeful day today! I think I'm just going to look at these photos for a few minutes, dreaming of spring!