Bedtime can be God-time
As a mother of three girls, I know how easy it is for time to slip by. Moment by moment, day by day, the constant, physical demands of everyday living tend to crowd out things of a spiritual nature. One tool I've used to maintain spiritual health in our home is daily family devotions, which I chose to do at bedtime. I did not call them to Bible story time straight from playing; I called them from playing to get ready for bed. That way, "bedtime" was the activity that caught the brunt of their disappointment of ending their day, while Bible time became the special treat that allowed them to stay up a little longer. The girls usually had many questions; they were eager to extend the discussion longer than they would have at other times of the day since there was nothing left but sleep to look forward to. I hope you will take advantage of our free devotion downloads. Your time together is so precious, and the value of investing in your child's spiritual development is infinite. Nothing matters more than God and our relationship with Him. Nothing. It is forever! Another tool I had in my belt was bedtime music. It was quieting and calming, and usually spiritually nurturing; although, we did throw in an occassional "All The Pretty Little Horses" and such. I was disappointed that I could never find an album that contained all prayers, because that was what I wanted playing in the room when I left. What better way to occupy an otherwise idle mind at the close the day than with talking to God? So, over the years, I have written prayer songs for my kids to sing. The "Quiet Waters" EP album is a product of those years, and the girls have recorded the songs with some boys that are friends of ours. I hope you and your child will be blessed by them. Bottles, Binkies, Blankies Bearing in mind that each child is unique, I will share with you what worked for my three girls. By they time they reached one year of age, I let the bottles and binkies disappear--virtually overnight. I had introduced them to the cup, and they were handling it well. From what I have observed, a pacifier and bottle outlive their true value after the first year. If a child can drink safely from a cup by then, a bottle only serves to comfort a child, and that comfort can be provided other ways while nutritional needs are still being met. I am not saying that emotional needs are not as important as physical needs, but there are other ways to comfort your child. The longer past one year they keep the bottle and pacifier, the more aware they are of them and their attachment to them, making it harder and harder to release them. I didn't ever lay them in bed with a bottle in the first place, so it wasn't a part of bedtime routine in that sense, and the transition for us was not difficult at all. I purposefully did not designate one particular blanket as a favorite "blankie" for them, simply because I was terrified that I would end up overnight somewhere and forget it, ending up walking the floor with an inconsolable child! I also tried not to keep a fan on for "white noise" to help them sleep for the same reason, but somehow, we are all sleeping with fans these days. It works. I did not let them stay in Mommy and Daddy's bed, but I am guilty of staying with them in their bed until they fell asleep. Upside: they went to sleep peacefully. Downside: they would wake up at random times through the night and come looking for me! By the time they were five, they were staying asleep all night. It was worth it to me for the bonding that took place, and the peaceful bedtimes. So, take my ideas with a grain of salt, as you should with anyone's, and run the race God has marked out for YOU! |
Children: a treasure from the LORD!CAUTION: HANDLE WITH PRAYER! Children are like flowers: they are beautiful and fragile, yet surprisingly resilient and somehow strong. It always amazes me to see how the delicate blossoms of my gardenias weather the storms that assail them. Another way children are like flowers is that they can even be fragrant, depending on what they've been up to! That can be a good thing, or not.
Just like the blossoms in our gardens, children depend on us to care for them. The more we invest, the more likely we will be to have pleasing results. They are only ours as a trust, and our time to nurture them is very short. With so much at stake, we dare not tackle this daunting responsibility alone. We need to ask God daily for His wisdom and help. Beyond that, we need to teach our children to develop their own, personal relationship with God by leading them to Jesus. He is only One who can save from sin and give life by His Holy Spirit. What an amazing privilege and joy! May you shine like the stars forever as you turn many to righteousness, beginning in your own home! |