Since beginning CB&J three years ago, I often find myself talking to friends about what we are doing and one question ALWAYS comes up…HOW DO YOU HAVE TIME FOR THIS? The short version is:
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” -Matthew 6:33
(The long version- Part 2, is coming next week and is all about MARGIN.)
When our eyes are fixed on His kingdom, we start noticing little moments everyday that can point our kids (and ourselves) toward the one true King. I depend on the Holy Spirit to be at work, opening my eyes to little moments I would otherwise miss!
So, what does this look like in real life?
It’s 7:00 AM on Monday and all four boys are up and in the kitchen eating breakfast at the bar! As I sip my second cup of coffee, I ask them what story on CONTENTMENT they would like to hear. Without hesitation they all shout, “NAT THE BUNNY!” It’s a rhyme about a bunny who could change his color but in the end, learns to be content with the color he is.
This sweet, intentional five minutes could have easily passed us by as I scrolled on my phone, and I would have never realized the opportunity I missed to start our day talking about our WOW word and refocusing our hearts! After reading the poem, Chip realized we had forgotten to tell God thank you for our food. As he says the prayer, he adds at the end “ and please help us to be CONTENT!”
It’s 12:15 PM on Friday, we are finished with lunch but it’s a few minutes too early to go down for a nap. I tell my four year old we are completely OUT of Jesus bags to give to the homeless and ask if he’ll help me put some together. He picks out his favorite items to stuff in the bag and asks to ‘write’ neighbor on the front. We spend about 10 minutes total on this activity, not too long, but an intentional moment pointing him toward COMPASSION.
5:00 PM on Thursday rolls around (the scariest time of the day at our house), I have just gotten home from the grocery, and I need to start cooking supper. The kids want to play outside, so as we unload the grocery bags I plop them on the ground and ask the boys to draw circles with chalk outside. Then, I give them a challenge. Since our WOW word that month is COURAGE and we are learning about the food groups, I ask them to divide the groceries and see how well our family is doing with eating a variety of foods. After they finish dividing them, I tell them to make tally marks and count the foods we have in each group. This gives me just enough time to run inside, get supper cooking (as I watch them out the window) and go back to discuss their findings after the food is in the oven!
Some days our CB&J activity is planned and is the main focus of our quality time, but MOST days it’s spontaneous, a few minutes here or there when we have a lull in activity, and time is captured as intentional, sacred, and special!
When my eyes are not focused on His kingdom, (which happens multiple times every single day) I am easily overwhelmed, just like the seed sown among thorns in Mark 4. I know what His word says, but “the worries of this life…and desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” Do my kids have good friends? Am I hosting enough play dates? Are they good at sports? How is their reading?
“But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.” -Matthew 6:33
Rather than seeing CB&J as something else on my plate or a huge time commitment, I view it as an intentional way to keep my focus on Jesus! CB&J is truly just as much for me as it is for my children.
“Enjoy the little things in life, for one day you may look back and realize they were the big things.”
-Robert Brault
Mr. Marc was our next door neighbor and often played songs on his guitar as the boys ran around in the backyard. As part of the Speer Family, he grew up singing gospel music and continues using his gifts to record hymns for CB&J today! These hymns are a timeless way to remind children about the character of Jesus, and we are grateful to be able to share these with you.