by Desi Ash
The next “prime time” you can utilize in your normal
routine is Drive Time.
Growing up my brothers and I were always involved in
something and my mom would joke that she was at times more a taxi driver than a
mom. As a kid I would laugh and say something along the lines of well someone
has to take us where we need to go. One thing my mom made sure to do when she
was our “taxi driver” was to engage in conversation about our day or the
practice we just left. This taught me to make good use of my time behind the
wheel.
A 2016 survey released from the AAA Foundation for
Traffic Safety reported that drivers traveled nearly 10,900 miles on average
and spent more than 290 hours on the road.
So according to this study, on average as drivers we
are spending roughly an hour a day behind the wheel. Of that hour how often are
your kids in the car with you?
How are you using that hour to strategically set
up your kids for success?
Technology has not only made it easy, but has
encouraged the world to spend time in front of a screen. This is true in cars.
Cars now have built in DVD players and iPod chargers and Bluetooth to connect
directly to your phone for hands free calling.
What if instead of everyone doing their own thing in
the car, the car was used to engage with each other? What if instead of jamming
out to music you spent time listening to what God is trying to tell you? What
if instead of being bummed out to play “taxi driver” you instead took the time
to get to know the hard stuff about being a kid?
If we shifted our mindset of our time behind the
wheel, especially when our kids are in the car our drive time could become a
time the whole family looks forward to.
Deuteronomy 6:7-9 from The Message states:
Write
these commandments that I’ve given you today on your hearts. Get them inside of
you and then get them inside your children. Talk about them wherever you are,
sitting at home or walking in the street; talk about them from the time you get
up in the morning to when you fall into bed at night. Tie them on your hands
and foreheads as a reminder; inscribe them on the doorposts of your homes and
on your city gates.
If I could add to this passage, I would add, talk
about them in the car and inscribe them on the back of the headrests in your
car.
I am not saying that jamming out to the oldies or
watching a movie on a long road trip is wrong. I am saying that there are times
when we are able to take advantage of being in an enclosed place with our kids
that will make a difference in their lives.
Here are some tips to get your kids saying more than
“it was fine”
- ·
Ask open ended questions. Instead of
asking how their day was try asking what was the best or worst part of their
day
- · Ask questions specific to where you are traveling to. If on your way to a practice ask one thing they hope to accomplish or hope they get to do.
Have little ones? Try some of these conversation
starters
- ·
Let’s see how many different things God
created on our way…
- · Teach them worship songs or scriptures by having them repeat after you
Spend lots of time traveling alone? Try spending
time doing the following:
- ·
Pray for you family, as mentioned in
last week’s post
- ·
Pray for the world, specifically the
area you are traveling through
- ·
Jam out to a worship song, singing
praise to God
- ·
Spend time in silence listening to God
speak
The hour a day we spend behind the wheel doesn’t need
to be dreaded, doesn’t need to be stressful. It can be a time used to engage
with our kids and our heavenly Father.
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