Filling in the Little Spaces

When you're a mom, there are many times throughout the day when you're unsure of what to do with the kids. Maybe they were playing or coloring but now they're done, and its not nap time or lunchtime or any other time in particular. During these in-between times, it's easy to let the children watch TV or play video games. We've gotten into a bad habit of doing just that as we packed, moved across country, unpacked, and now try to fix up our new house. I needed to fight back against this habit, and the best way to fight a bad habit is to establish a good one!

This weekend I went to our local library, which is tiny but awesome, and picked up The Bad Beginning, the first book in A Series of Unfortunate Events. My plan was to read a chapter each evening in the interval between dinner and bedtime. Our kids do chores to clean up the house after dinner but there always seems to be a lull of about 30 minutes that needed filling. So I read one chapter of The Bad Beginning on Saturday night.

Since then, the kids have been clamoring for more. We read mid-morning while I drink my coffee. We read after lunch but before bedtime.We read at the dinner table while Olivia takes forever to finish her meal. I rarely have to suggest reading to them. It's easy to forget that no matter how old the kids get and how well they can read, they still love to hear stories read aloud.

This morning I read one chapter but then I needed a break to answer some emails. When I came back, Alex was reading the Disney version of The Prince and The Pauper to Lauren and Olivia.

I hope that we can build a lifelong love of reading in each of our children and help them to serve one another with their gifts and skills. The Bible reminds us, "Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." (Ephesians 5:15-16 ESV) We desire to use even the littlest spaces of time wisely, which may mean the occasional TV show or video game, and we pray that God will faithfully teach us to do just that!