Monday, February 11, 2008

Flat on Bunk

Several blogs back I mentioned to you that during the lent season I was going to follow a book called Be Still (Howard Publishing) which leads you through 31 days of meditative prayer. So far I’m loving it! I think one of the most important lessons I am learning is the value of doing just what the title encourages, be still. In our go, go, go culture we tend to feel as though we need to be doing something all the time. Fill every minute! But when we live this way we sometimes don’t face God and ourselves. Being still allows us an opportunity to hear His voice, instead of being distracted by the noises of busyness. Now I know as a mom this is not easy to do. How in the world can you find a quiet moment alone when you are in charge of so many others? I want to suggest an old camp counselor secret. It is called FOB (flat on bunk). You see as a busy camp counselor in the piney woods of east Texas, not only did the campers need a quiet moment, but so did us counselors. So FOB was mandatory every afternoon. Now if we could do it with 8 adolescents in our cabin, I think you can do it as a mom. Try it and see. Tell the kids, every afternoon you are starting a new routine, 30 minutes FOB (don’t call it nap time or it will be rejected completely – a name is everything). FOB can be after lunch or after you return from work. Remember mom, you need the quiet stillness just as much as they do. Set a timer for 30 minutes and tell the kids that alligators will eat them if they get off their bed. No, I’m just kidding, don’t say that, but do tell them how important it is to stay on their bed laying down until the buzzer goes off. Encourage them to look at books, pray or rest. You do the same. Choose a passage from scripture to meditate on during this time. Most importantly I want to encourage you to hear God’s loving voice saying, “I am with you. I will lead you and guide you for I love you my precious child.”

Family Fun: Tell the kids about FOB and talk about why it is important to have a time of stillness. You may even want to write out scripture verses on index cards each week, so you and the kids can focus on the same scripture. Why not start out with Psalm 23: 2, “He lets me rest in green meadows; He leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength.”

No comments: