On our flight to Orlando for our amazing Disney cruise, we sat in front of a 4 year-old boy.  He was a very chatty young boy.  And loud.  He asked a million questions of his teenage cousin sitting with him, questions like, "ARE WE GONNA CRASH?  OH!  I SEE THE BAG HANDLER!  IS HE GOING TO BREAK OUR THINGS?  WOW!  HERE WE GO...WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

I didn't even have time to be irritated because my ten-year-old did it for me.  Except this caused me to chuckle because about two seconds ago, HE was the vocal preschooler asking such questions.  I literally laughed out loud at the irony of my sweetest middle child rolling his eyes at the youngster behind us.  And, I had one of those mommy moments where you feel as though your chest is being squeezed because you suddenly notice that your babies aren't babies anymore.

One of the reasons that our vacation was so fabulous is that our children are the perfect age for it--old enough that traveling with them is a breeze, and young enough that they were still enchanted with the magic of our travels.  And, I find myself at this season of mothering with a realization.  THIS is the time to seize the opportunity in a new way with these teachable children.

NOW is the time to seize their maturity and ramp up discipling them and teaching them important things like how do you hear from God, how do you draw near to Him, how to learn to let Him guide you in every aspect of your life.  Sensing this important time when my children are making their faith walk their very own, I am determined to find a way to lead them in this journey.  And this summer has felt like a precious window in their development.

I asked several Godly mothers and mentors about books or tools they have used.  The proof is in their amazing children.  And, one particular resource kept coming back to mind.  It's a DVD series called Travel the Road.  It's sort of a Survivor-esque documentary series which follows 2 young men who travel the world, following God's leading, to tell people about Christ.  

While I originally pictured us sitting around the breakfast table engaged in deep conversation about all things of the Bible, this DVD series is just the ticket for now.  It has captured my children's attention, and is sparking some great conversation.  We are working together to beef up the small study guide that comes with it in order to dig deeper into the Word.  And we are all inspired to see these ordinary twenty-somethings from America who are venturing all around the world to share love, kindness, and the Good News with all the people that they encounter.

INTENTIONAL challenge:  It is my strong conviction that seizing teaching moments with my kids sometimes involves creating those teaching moments.  And, I am learning that making a disciple of my children doesn't have to involve long study times, but rather engaging them in the wonder and thrill that is a life following Christ.  When we look at Deuteronomy 6:7-9, we see that we, as parents, are to literally talk about the Lord and give instruction about Him to our children as we go through our daily routine.  We just have to choose to ask for eyes to see every opportunity--and seize the moment as we travel the road.