“Being in a hurry.  Getting to the next thing without fully entering the thing in front of me.  I cannot think of a single advantage I’ve ever gained from being in a hurry.  But a thousand broken and missed things, tens of thousands, lie in the wake of all the rushing” (Pastor quoted in “one thousand gifts”  by Ann Voskamp)

I walked into my bathroom the other day and found this…

1.

My first reaction was frustration. “How many times have I told them to put their toys away?” Then it hit me…10 years from now I won’t find a light saber by my toilet (hopefully =) ).  Just 10 years and life will look a whole lot different.

So I took a picture. It’s a “snapshot of now”.

Before I know it “now” will become “then”. At that moment, I will long for “then” and be discontent with “now”.

This is my top ten list of snapshots of now. I want to capture this time. I want to stop in moments of my day and absorb the present. I want to slow down and soak it all in.

“I can only live the full life when I live fully in the moment.” (Ann Voskamp)

2. Brothers sharing an umbrella

3. large puzzles spread out across the floor 

4. silly faces in the midst of stomach bugs

5. almost an entire loaf of bread used for dinner (10 yrs it will be 2 loaves!)

6. rain boots worn to the museum…when it wasn’t raining

7. saturday morning spent building a Lego hotel with daddy…Legos strewn across the dining room

8. using mommy’s makeup to imitate a black-eye

9. three boys busy building with alphabet blocks at mommy’s feet in the kitchen

10. cuddling with Pooh, with “bubba” in his mouth, on the couch

“I am a mother-tired, but when my soul doth magnify, my time doth magnify…How long does it take your soul to realize that your life is full? The slower the living, the greater the sense of fullness and satisfaction.” (Ann Voskamp)

“Wherever you are, be all there” (Elisabeth Elliot)

Take snapshots of your now. Absorb your time today with your children. Before you pick up that toy, thank God that it was there.  Before you rush & hurry to the next thing, absorb the present moment to it’s fullest.

the now.

Linking up with:

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Growing Godly Men at www.themobsociety.com