I’ve got a pretty good list of the things I disliked when I was a kid but appreciate as an adult, and at the top of that list is the attention my mom gave to what poured into our ears. So when you mention a song from the ’80s and ’90s, my eyes will likely give you a blank stare. One of the many things I have always loved about my mom is her desire to pour good things into her heart too. When I recommend a book, I usually find it on her countertop where she reads her Bible in the morning within a few days.
It may come as a surprise to those of us who have not checked our calendars in awhile and I hate to even say it out loud, but these summer weeks are rolling by. We have a few more weeks to pour beautiful, good things into our kids’ ears before we pack their lunches and send them off to learn all the things. Those of you who know me well know how much I love car time with my kids. I love the fact that we are all contained and I can ask any questions, pour out any advice, or turn on any audiobook, and I’ve got a captive, actually captured, audience.
Yesterday in the car on the way home from the lake, I had Graham’s attention, and we talked about him leaning over the side of the boat and pulling his younger brother on board. I asked him, “When you pulled Teddy into the boat, did you get pulled up or down?” He said it pulled him down. “Who are the friends that pull you up?” He named a few. “Who are the friends that pull you down?” He named a few. “Your friends are going to pull you one way or another…I wonder how we could look for more people this school year that pull you up.” It was interesting to see how well he could evaluate his own friendships…even at seven.
Over these next few weeks, if you want to tee up some great conversations with your kids in the car, check out the book “Show Up For Your Life – What the Girl You’ll Be Tomorrow Wants You to Know Today.” It’s written for girls in middle school and up…so your older kids won’t think it’s lame. I have been listening to it with my boys who are 7 and 9, and while some of the concepts aren’t relevant to them, I’m often surprised by which conversations they want to jump into.
I would recommend listening to the whole thing, because there were parts that were good for my own heart, but it’s broken down into small chapters so you could jump around. You can download a couple of chapters free or if you haven’t used Audible before, your first book from them is free.
Let’s max these last few weeks! There are good things that we want these sweet kids to know as they carry their backpacks down the long sidewalk into that school. Let’s equip them well, rather than watching from the sidelines, hoping they choose the right path, let’s enter in. Let’s be moms who pull our kids up!
