Driving to church the other day there was a brief little message on the radio, not even a couple minutes long and it left me feeling convicted and challenged. Simply put it stated that love is spelt differently by kids. No, I am not talking about actual spelling mistakes. The message went on to say that kids spell love T.I.M.E.
Then during church, the topic of Giving was spoken on. Are we giving of our time? I can take a hint, this was something I needed to be thinking about especially in relation to my girls and our family. How am I spending my time, and am I giving of my time to them?
The message on the radio alone almost had me in tears in the car. Kids really do spell love T.I.M.E. It’s true and I know it. It challenged me to think about what I am doing with my time. I work Monday to Friday during the day and when I get home some days all I want is a break, but all the girls want is to be with me, especially once they wake from their naps.
I often feel frazzled when I get home because I start thinking about everything I “need” to do. Make dinner. Do laundry. Get the girls fed. Bath time. Get them ready for bed. Plus so much more also gets jammed into that time. Am I making sure, though, that I am spending enough quality time with my girls?
Our relationship as a family will not be one that is simply our being in the same house at the same time during the day. I don’t want us all to be under one roof and not interacting. All the electronics need to be put aside as I ask my girls what they would like to do. I want to provide opportunities to play games, do arts and crafts, go out for a family adventure somewhere, and so much more. I will always read my girls a book or five before they go to bed each night.
This is actually something my husband and I have both been thinking a lot about recently, we want our girls to know they are loved. We want them to know that we are always here for them. We know that in order for them to know these things and more, we need to invest our time into them fully. The more time we give to them now while they are young, the better foundation we are creating in their lives and in our relationship as a family. We will NEVER regret giving them too much of our time.
Do you children spell love T.I.M.E.?
Very true, I need to find more time for my daughter. Since the twins arrived that has been tough!
I think we all go through this, I most definitely am this month
I make sure that I put everything away so that I can spend time with my little man. I want him to have what I didn’t have. I completely agree with this post.
I love the true in this post. Sometimes I feel like there’s not enough time in the day for everything to get done and sometimes need a reminder like this post, to stop and spend time with my little ladies. Thanks for sharing.
This is important to remember as our children get older too. We have two teens and we schedule weekly time with them both individually and together. Great post
Yes! Playing with my kids is a gift I give to them. I love how they light up!
This is so true and so ME! Thank you for this great reminder!
So so true! Time is such a gift. I’m trying to be more mindful of spending time w my kids instead of just doing things
Such a beautiful post. You are completely right and while I really struggle with this (I think we all do), I am vowing to make an extra effort to put the TIME in with the little ones 🙂
Great point. Time is the most precious gift and they grow so fast. The time we give our kids now makes a huge difference later as well as being fun times in the present.
So very true! The greatest gift we can give our children is time!
It reminds me of that quote “Children don’t want our presents, they want our presence” and it really is so true. I definitely struggle with this, and now that I’m pregnant with #2, it’s something that I think about quite often. Thanks so much for sharing <3
This is a beautiful post and a beautiful idea.
I think we may be on the same wave length with this T.I.M.E things girl. but remember to make time for yourself as well so that the time spent with your little’s isn’t forced but instead rewarding. Like the old saying goes “So much to do and so little time” 😛
Our sons gift wish lists usually include sleepovers trips out together restaurants ice cream hikes…