Have you ever wished for a superpower? Maybe you could wave a magic wand and the laundry is folded and put away? Or maybe that wand magically cooks dinner and sets a beautiful table with fresh flowers for your family? If I could choose a mom superpower, it would be to freeze time or go back in time for just one moment….
I don’t know about you, but my social media accounts are filled with back-to-school photos of precious kids celebrating the start of another school year, another milestone accomplished, another inch taller, or even another year smarter. The side-by-side comparison photos really get me in my feelings — like the ones showing the first day of kindergarten and the first day of their senior year. Are you a mom celebrating your child entering middle school or are you a mom about to drop off your firstborn for their freshman year of college? I just dropped off my daughter for her first day of first grade and in my mind, it felt like college. (I mean, she was just a baby yesterday.)
Parenting Paradox
I’m wondering how my heart can ache and be filled to the brim with gratitude all at the same time. It’s one of life’s greatest mysteries — why it is so hard to learn to live the lesson EVERYONE tells you about, “The days are long, but the years are short.” There is no amount of parenting books or motherly advice that can teach you how to live with your heart in two conflicting places: missing your youth and celebrating their growth. Wherever you find yourself in this season of new milestones with your precious children, I want to encourage your heart around intentionality. Creating rhythms of intentionality towards your kids will never be added to your list of regrets.
I remember when my firstborn was a baby, I was in a small group of all new mamas. Our small group leaders gifted us a giant jar filled with 936 dried beans. It certainly seemed like a strange gift of dried beans, until the leader explained the 936 beans represented how many weeks I had with my child until she turned 18. The leaders of the group instructed us to keep this jar of beans and take out one bean per week as a visual to encourage us to be intentional with our time as they grow up.
20 Ideas to Create Intentional Moments with Your Kids
One day I will launch my flaming arrow of a daughter (she really is fiery) as an 18-year-old ready to take on the world for her freshman year of college. But until that day comes, I’ve decided to set my mind on creating intentional moments with her and her brother.
Here is a list to hopefully encourage you and give you some ideas to consider in creating intentional moments with your kids:
- One-on-one weekly breakfast dates
- Dinner as a family
- Milestone birthday trips
- Bedtime prayers
- Dance parties in the kitchen
- Picnic meal outside
- Walk & talks
- Water balloon wars
- Volunteer together as a family once a month
- Pizza and movie night
- Saturday morning pancakes
- Weekly game night
- Journal letters to each other
- Build a treehouse or blanket fort
- Ride bikes
- Cook a meal together
- Learn a new skill together
- Leave them a note for them to discover in their lunch box
- Text them an encouraging message each week on the same day/time
- Attend Family Camp together
Every Mom Needs Encouragement
We would love to hear how you create moments of intentional time with your kids so we can add to this list and encourage more families to do the same. You might be like me, wishing you had a superpower and could freeze time and keep them little forever. We all know it’s not possible, but small moments of purpose will never be lost. Maybe these small moments of intentionality will be your life’s greatest legacy and you’ll look down from heaven watching multiple generations continuing what you started.
Here at WinShape Camps, we know parenting isn’t easy. So we decided to start a podcast to encourage parents like you as you raise your own flaming arrows. Our founder Truett Cathy always said, “How do you know if someone needs encouragement? If they are breathing.” We want moms to know that we are with you and for you and want to encourage you along the way. The podcast is called Carpool Conversations and each episode we end with a few questions to ask your kids to build moments of intentional time together. You can listen to it wherever you get your podcasts – including Apple Podcasts & Spotify!
Written by: Sara Jones