One of my favorite books on motherhood is The Mission of Motherhood: Touching Your Child’s Heart for Eternity* by Sally Clarkson.

In it she mentions how her family began a tradition of “tea time” in which they pause during the day to connect with one another. At the time my daughter was just three years old but loved herself a good tea party and so, knowing that I would likely fail at making it a daily habit, I began incorporating a special tea time into our week, complete with my favorite Irish tea and fancy china.

Now that she is five, we both look forward to our weekly tea time together (her because she gets to wear gloves and a beribboned hat) but me most of all because it creates an intentional space for me to focus not on my parental duties but on soaking up the spirit of my daughter.

I love Sally’s take on building God-centered relationships with our children:

“It’s important to realize that spending time with kids means so much more than just getting the parenting job done. Sometimes it’s easy for busy parents to forget this. We become so focused on training our children, correcting them, teaching them responsibility, and providing them with enriching activities that we forget how important it is just to be around them.

Helping our children build godly character is indeed essential and requires years of diligence. [However], people grow close not through monitoring one another’s behavior but by working together, playing together, talking together, celebrating together, weeping together.

Relationships develop when people are there for each other – and that’s as true for parents and children as it is for anyone else.” (p. 126)

As spring approaches, let’s continue to purposefully nurture the seeds of loving relationships that we have planted in our homes into full bloom.

Here are three cheerful spring printables that you can display in your home or send as an encouraging card to a friend this season!

Consider printing one of these cards and writing an invitation to a special Mom & Me tea or coffee.

Just click the link below to download the free 8×10 set!
-> MOD_TeaPrintables

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**All printables are for personal use only.