Don't we as homeschooling moms spend alot of time looking down the road...looking and planning the future for the benefit of our children?  Sure we do!  We spend months inquiring about and investigating curriculums.  We can spend weeks with other moms planning out our joint teaching days. We can spend days with our care groups planning field trips and other extracurricular activites. I have spent, at times, a month on preparing the year's lesson plans.  And we do this because we are looking at the big plan which is good..it is called organization...it helps us stay on our homeschooling yearly track.

But, even though we are very mindful of our organizational responsibilites and our yearly and long range school track we often lose sight of the long range spiritual and emotional tracks.  Oh, we all want our children to have a personal relationship with Jesus.  We want them to pray, go to church and study their bibles.  We have devotions with them and send them to vacation bible school and youth groups. We pack them up during the summer and send them off to the best bible camps.

 But in our day to day life we too often get caught up in the tasks of the day.  We get caught up in trying to get all that we have planned checked off our big list and we miss wonderful, teachable, foundation laying moments.  Little minutes of intimate time that can be used to build that godly foundaiton in our children for the many, many years ahead.  

In our busy, overly busy lives we find ourselves too often sitting our little one in front of a "veggies tale" video, turning on the computer and letting the children play, or noticing the lump in the chair that is really a child with their head stuck in a book and feeling like we have been sprung from jail.  Our first thought is how much time we can have until the natives get restless.

Oh, I am not suggesting that videos or computer games or a good book are bad or evil things.  What I am suggesting is that if you relate to what I am saying and your mind has already turned to more scenerios that are real in your life then YOU ARE TOO BUSY!  You are probably so busy keeping up with your lists, your plans for the future that you are missing alot of teachable, intimate times. 

Those teachable, intimate moments are times when you sit with your children and tell them a bible story that relates to something going on in their lives.  Or, maybe, bringing out the crayons and while you color a bible story picture discussing with them what blessings they think God has given them today.  you could Just sit and brush your daughter's hair while you reassure her that you love her but not nearly as much as God loves her.  Make the time, when you see frustration mounting, to tuck away in their school book, a love note with a bible verse encouraging him/her to persevere through their math or english. Cuddle and sit for a couple minutes and share with them moments in your life that God has blessed you.  Or you could notice that the natives are getting restless and gathering them together to go sit in the grass to watch the birds.  Spend a couple of minutes and talk about the awesome creation around you.  How about instead of everyone going to their corners taking a walk around the block and praying at your neighbor's homes...

The list is endless and these, or things like these, should be moments that take place everyday and more than just once a day.  They should be unscripted by us and scripted by the Holy Spirit...but we have to be planning in our minds and listening with our spirit just as fervently as we do our academic long- range goals. We have to be listening, attentive and ready to take hold of these moments.  We have to be looking ahead, ready and willing to grab up these teachable moments in the same vigor that we grab up that well-priced book at the used book sale. We have to be looking ahead for every minute to teach our children how to lay at the feet of the cross.  We have to look ahead not just for the academic achievements.  We need to look ahead to help our childen grow in love, strength and obedience to the Lord our God...don't miss an intimate minute!

"MY SPIRIT WHICH IS UPON YOU, AND MY WORDS WHICH I HAVE PUT IN YOUR MOUTH, SHALL NOT DEPART FROM YOUR MOUTH, NOR FROM THE MOUTH OF YOUR OFFSPRING, NOR FROM THE MOUTH OF YOUR OFFSPRING'S OFFSPRING," SAYS THE LORD, 'FROM NOW AND FOREVER.'  ISAIAH 59:21