M&M's (Making Meaningful Moments)

M&M's purpose:
To help parents take time, creatively and simply, throughout the day to make life meaningful with their children. I think most parents have a list tucked back in their hearts of things they hope they are doing or want to do with their kids before they are "out of the house." But life starts pushing in, with school, soccer practice, music lessons, and even church activities, and those hopes get washed away with the dishes. So my hope is to give you, and me, some simple ideas about how to make our moments meaningful, not just for today, but for eternity. And in a small way to help "turn the hearts of the fathers/mothers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers/mothers" as a very wise man named Malachi put it one time.

First, it is not too late to make moments meaningful for your children, infants, toddlers, Jr. High, even if they are "out of the house," our children always need our affectionate expressions. They need to know we are proud of them, that they are a one-of-a-kind wonder, and that we love them no matter what. That communication is always on time. Our children need affirmation just as much today as they did the moment they were born.
So start today, where you are in the course of your family life, and know that it is the right thing to do.

Morning Meaningful Moments:

Get yourself up on time
(...enough on time to fill your own tank, physically (have yourself ready for the day, completely dressed) emotionally (have your cup of coffee, the news downed) and spiritually (pray, read, take time to renew) before you have to minister to their needs. Try not to be rushing around getting your life together at the same time they are rushing around getting their life together. Be a minister not a slave to the morning hours.)

Wake them up to a pleasant sound
(...perhaps a song from your own voice, or other enjoyable music...this is a good time to play that classical music you have been told will make them smarter, maybe one of those sound makers with ocean waves and music...just make it meaningful)

Have breakfast ready by the time they come out to the kitchen.
(...even if this is a simple bowl of cereal or a pop-tart, something about having the bowl and spoon ready ministers to the heart.)

Read to them before their day starts
(Choose something that will boost their confidence, give them spiritual and emotional energy, and keep it fairly breif. This can be done as they are eating the breakfast you have prepared for them. Try not to get "preachy" with this, just read it and let it soak in. With littler ones they may like to answer a question about it, but don't press the older ones into heavy conversation. Just read and leave it there, on the tip of their thoughts.
If nothing else... you will be able to salve your conscious when you are asked, even rhetorically, "Have you read to your children lately." "Yes, every morning!")

Help with details of getting ready for the day all the way to their shoes
(Think of this opportunity as a time to minister to their needs, not teach them a valuable lesson on how to take care of themselves. Brush hair gently, tie shoes (even if they know how), help them look and feel their best, inside and out! 90% of this is actually accomplished the night before, see before bed meaningful moments.)

Make beds
(Make time in the morning to ensure that your bed and their beds are made, it will give them a feeling of being put together and the whole room seems almost clean when the bed is made.)

Check family Calendar
(Go over the days events with them so that you are not caught off guard about that extra baseball practice, and they are not caught off guard by the piano lessons at 4:00.)

Give them a drink of water
(Remember that the body needs water, not just juice and milk. Give them, and yourself a glass of water sometime during the morning routine before your head on into the day. I have even heard it can help with hyperactivity, and stress. Hydrate! It is good for the whole family.)

Pour a blessing over them
(Before school, on the way in the car, make the moments in the care relation building. Turn off the morning talk show and pay attention to blessing. If you are a home schooler attach it to another morning event or it won't happen, right after they brush their teeth, or just as they finish eating. This is probably the most valuable part of the morning routine. Bless their efforts, their relationships with friends and teachers, bless their work and their fun. They need your blessing, do not withhold it from them.)

M&M's are perfect in the morning!



Evening Meaningful Moments:

Eat together
(Plan on family meals. Plan meals for earlier than later in the evening. You can always push back the food that is ready for an hour, but you can't have it ready to eat instantly if you need to eat earlier than you thought. Crock pots are a wonderful invention that our grandmother's and great grandmother's used at a time that women first entered the work force. Buy one and use it! You can have dinner ready in the morning! Plan on meals, don't let them just happen. Oh yes, light candles...even over paper plates!)

Lay out the clothes and supplies for tomorrow
(This is the 90% I alluded to in the morning M&M's. This one step can save your sanity, your child's self esteem and possibly your marriage. I'm serious about that! Collect all backpacks, homework, school supplies, brief cases, keys, cellphones, have them ready and in a safe zone before sunset (or in the winter months, an hour before bedtime) Take time to do this just as the sun is setting, and when it rises you will be ready!)

Check the family calendar
(This will keep you from missing birthday parties and being late for soccer practice, and no suprises tomorrow morning)

Straighten bedrooms
(Ensure that every pathway is clean of debre'. Help (yes, it is okay to help them! Even teens sometimes need a helping hand. I am not advocating that it be done for them, but it is alright to do it with them.) kids gather laundry and straighen belongings so they stay free of the heavy load of the once a week or once a month "go clean your bedroom" syndrome.)

Read a chapter out of a family book
(Turn off the Wii, and sit down for 15 minutes for old fashioned family book reading. Use fun accents, and create a memory with your children. Take the time tonight, don't put it off. During the holidays read holiday books, during the summer maybe you can read two chapters instead of just one!)

Have Family Prayer Time
(This prayer time should be more meaningful than "Now I lay me down to sleep." Ask your children about the things they may be worried about, tests coming up, strained friendships, hopes for try-outs, and dreams for victory. Their concerns may seem so small on the platform of adult stress, but it is their only world, and their stresses are just as real to them as ours are to us. Teach them to pray. And give their faith a place to grow. This is also a good time to read scripture with them. Make it interesting, and keep it within the framework of their ages. When you first start this M&M, be careful not to over-extend this time in zealousness, you and the kids will burn out. Remember you are in this for the long haul, you don't have to read all of Genesis this week.)




Here is the quick list of Meaningful Moments for both morning and evening.


Morning M&M's

Get yourself up on time
Wake them up to a pleasant sound
Have breakfast prepared
Read to them
Help them get ready from head to toe
Make beds
Check family calendar
Give them a drink of water
Bless them

Evening M&M's

Eat together
Lay out clothes and supplies for tomorrow
Check family calendar
Straighten bedrooms
Read a chapter out of a family book
Have family prayer time


Start today! It is the beginning of all your child's tomorrows!