valuing our time ( part 1 )

I have been thinking a lot lately of time. And valuing time.
It has always been a big deal to me to make the most of my time, or using it wisely.
Might have something to do with my upbringing or just my characteristic
But i have never liked to just sit around, i have always felt there has to be something that needs doing, and most of the time as a mom there certainly is. But i also feel there is a time for a rest or a break too. That is vital to keep us moms going. I nap daily
But i have never liked to feel that I was wasting my time, like watching a movie, playing computer games or the like.
It may be because I grew up with out a T.V, and computer. SO there was no sitting around watching something and no computer or video games at all.
When i was really little ( under 8 ) my parents ran a market garden in the summer, plus we had our own house garden, did ranching, and lots of animals. So there was lots to keep us busy at. Both work and fun.
For evening activities when it was dark and work was done, or in the winter time, we played board games, card games, reading books, and such.
When i was 8 and we moved from there, we still had a big garden to tend, lots of animals, and lots of fun and work to do. Never was a dull momnet!

So what I am getting at is that since i was not use to sitting and do nothing but watching something, I still to this day do not feel right just sitting and wasting time like that. It has to be to be in the evening when there is absolutely nothing else better to do, and then only once a month, if even that. It wasn't always this way though.
There was a time after i got married and we got a T.V. for watching movies ( it even got 3 channels, though a little blurry), that i did enjoy watching. And quite often too, though not in the day time,( i just could not stand that at all).
At the time we had that T.V. we only had 2 little ones and we did not have to worry so much about what we watched. We had that one about a year and a half. Then got rid of it.
A couple years later we got a D.V.D player, and started getting D.V.Ds from the Library or rental store to watch and did that quite often.
By this time though our kids were older and we really had to make sure they were family friendly, but often during the movie we would find, "oops it was not."
That's when i started to get sick of movies. The lack of good and wholesome ones out there.
We did buy the whole complete season set of Little House On The Prairie. And loved watching that together as a family.
But from then on I gradually got sick of movie watching all together. We went from watching a few a week to only Friday nights. Then i was like, "Why don't replace our movie night with a game night instead." So that's what we did. ( but soon our game night wore off, but we did not go back to to movie night to my great delight.
Now we almost never watch any movies at all. It has been a long time.
Also the kids would play computer games at a lot. I could not stand them sitting there during the day doing that, so i really limited them, or said only in the evening. ( though that has been our reading time as well)
Now i am happy to say they don't play computer games any more!! YEA!!

I just feel they have much better things to do with their time.
They have school of course and chores, but after that is done, they can play outside in the woods, ride bikes, build things with wood, ride their scooter, skate board, read books, write letters to their many cousins, color and draw pictures, and so much more.
I want them to be creative. I don't want them to feel that the only thing there is to do for fun or entertainment is to sit and watch something. And i don't even want them to feel that all spare time should necessarily be fun or entertaining.

And that is how it is with me too, i feel I have way better things to do than sit and waste it watching something, i don't care if it's good, it is still wasting my very valuable time.
Like i said i do need need breaks in my busy day as mom.
And of course more than just a nap.
But my breaks can still be very useful. I can sit and write letters, read my Bible, read other good books ( like i have done this winter), phone my many family members, write on my blog, send e-mails, go for walks, chat with hubby. All that to me is taking a break, yet accomplishing so much. I could not bare to sit and do nothing.
But maybe that's just me.
Maybe the Lord is just convicting me of this.
Maybe this is just for me and my family and no else.
But i have been wondering as a whole, should God's people be valuing their time more?
I have been wondering does God care at all what we do with our spare time?
Does it matter to Him if we just sit wasting our time away by watching something?
What does He think of all this?

Some how i feel that just as we should value our money (which God has blessed us with), and use it wisely for God and not just on our selves; that we should also value our time that God has gave us here on earth and also use it wisely for Him.
We do not know how much time we have left here on earth. I really feel we need to make the most of it.
I have been so convicted of this lately.

SO how do we spend our evenings then?
Well we don't have much of an evening during the week in school season since supper is at 6:00 and bed time is at 8:00. Between those hours the table is cleaned from supper and dishes are done, a little play time either in doors or out, then wash up time, then comes reading time. I read to the children form a children's Bible, and other good Godly character building books. Some where in there may be time for a quick snack. Then after reading time is brush teeth time, then off to bed at 8:00.
No school nights( which is Thursday and Friday nights in our home), and summer evenings are different only in that bed time is later. Other wise we do the same things. They just have more free time between when supper dishes are done and reading time. Summer evenings though find us a lot of times out in the garden after supper. We all work together to keep it weeded and watered and so on.

I find i have much more to share on this topic than i first thought, so I am planing a part 2 on this.

To close up part 1 this, I would just say it is something each family has to be convicted on. Something to to think on, pray about and discuss with hubby.
I personal took awhile coming to this conviction, was not something that happened over night for me, so i would not expect that of any one else either.

Well until next time,
God Bless and Take care!!
In Him,
Mae