Heard this story a little while back:
One evening a little child named, Billy, was allowed to sit in his father’s place at the dinner table while his father was absent. His slightly older sister asked Billy, “So, you’re the father tonight. All right, will you help me with my homework after dinner?”
Without a moment’s hesitation, Billy replied nonchalantly, “No, I’ve got work to do. Ask your mother!”
Question: If your child(ren) were to give a few soundbites of you, what would it sound like?
Ok… I told you that we we’re going to load up with candy this Halloween and WE DID!!! Only, we really like these times to actually mean something more to our family then “Tricking or Treating”. Here’s a little of what we did for Halloween this year. My wife wrote about our time (HERE)
…I am not a BIG candy buyer/spender or even Halloween costume spender for that matter (The clearance rack is my best friend!), but we do buy some candy to hand out to our neighbors. I wanna be a light for God right where we are and protesting buying a one bag of candy to share with my neighborhood probably isn’t gonna the best route to go, BUT as a family we do wanna GIVE more and LOVE more and make MEMORIES in the midst of doing so. So this year we did something DIFFERENT! We made a small change that I think we will make a TRADITION. Our church does service projects in our community and through this we heard that the local nursing home always has a Halloween party for friends and family, but no one comes. HEARTBREAKING. So after we went to some houses on our street and talked with neighbors, we piled in the van and headed over to the nursing home. BEST decision we made. The kids LOVED it and realized how lonely Holidays can be for some. Sometimes that knock on the door on Halloween is a blessing for someone else. Sometimes the joy of giving candy and hearing a “Thank You” is a blessing to the person who wanted to give. Sometimes seeing little people dress up and enjoy the one night they get to wear a crazy costume out in public is a blessing to someone else… (Read Full Article Here)
Not Sure where you all come down with Halloween and all, but our family carved Pumpkins last night and we’re loading up with candy tonight! If you’re going out tonight, have fun and be safe. If your not… still have fun and be safe!
Yesterday, I had one of those “Dad moments”. My son came to me with a question while I was grilling dinner. His question? Why doesn’t God talk to us. After a few minutes of poorly attempting to explain HOW God talks, I finally gave up and said something like, “I don’t know why He doesn’t just TALK to us!” We decided to ask Him. Now, I’ll be honest with you, I’m a little nervous about this request, but here it goes… “God’s can you talk loud?”
Let’s see how he answers…
Here’s an idea my wife and I got a while back. Our oldest daughter wanted a Facebook page, a cell phone, a college acceptance letter, and several other “grown-up” things… She was ten at the time. Being the parents that we are, we wanted to encourage her in her maturation so like most parents, we caved in and allowed our little girl to enter the Internet unguarded and minimally protected. Yah right! Not a chance. We said no to the Facebook page, no to the cell phone, and no to a half a dozen other things. BUT we wanted to be sure to say yes too. Here’s what we did:
I set up A PRIVATE blog for her. We allowed her to have her own space. She now runs a private blog called (none of your business) ok, that’s not the name of the blog, but it still isn’t any of your business what the blog is named… or what it’s about, or what all she says. See the beauty in it? We allowed her to invite her closest friends, and family members. I run the privacy settings so as a result, I’m the one who accepts and invites people to join.
Here’s what happened: she got her space to try out being a “grown-up” and we still get to keep her safe and guide her in this experience. If you were to go on her blog today you’d notice that the #1 people who comment on nearly every post is her biggest fans… Dad and mom. (The honest truth is, she’s awesome. You’ll discover this soon as I’m going to let this now eleven year old write a few posts here very soon.)
Bottom line: You can say yes sometimes without letting go completely of the reigns and hoping for the best. Stay engaged.
That was an exact quote of what I yelled as I saw our youngest standing there holding on to a piece of “dog excrement” this morning… side note – I was in the shower and about died as a dove out to stop her from testing the palatability of the substance.
…every had a moment like this as a parent?
Heard a funny statement this morning. As a staff, we were reading over the parables of Luke 15. As we read, we noticed an interesting phrase that came out of Jesus’ mouth.
Vs. 8 “…Or what woman, if she has 10 silver coins and loses one coin, does not light a lamp and sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?”
Here was the comment: Why didn’t he say “ or a guy…”? “Because he knew a guy would just forget about it and move on… a woman cares for every cent.
I know, I know… very sexist and certainly not always true, but it what made it funny was the conversation my wife and I had only 30 minutes before when she caught a mistake on our cell phone bill. I missed it. Why? Because she’s the meticulous one of the family. She and I are so much a like it’s scary, but but this area where we’re so different. This is where we’re so different. She knows every penny we’ve ever spent and I… well… I round up. How about you? How are you and your spouse similar / different? What would it be like if you two we’re just a like? Good thing? Or not so much?
We’ve received some great feedback so far with ideas and suggestions. One topic that’s been brought up before was that of Internet safety and all that jazz…
This is one I think we’ll get right into. This is a topic that is generally very touchy and can lend itself to being very scary and depressing. With that in mind I thought I’d start off on a couple positive notes. As we know the Internet IS an amazing tool. Without it, I’d have to call each of you and read this post. Not a lot of fun.
There are generally three views of the Internet:
1. The Internet is dangerous and should be avoided!
2. The Internet is awesome… just embrace it!
3. The Internet is an awesome tool… learn to use it right!
As you probably think, I fall into the last camp. The Internet is an awesome tool. It’s an amazing resource that is changing the world. Like anything though, it has it’s downside.
I read a doctoral dissertation a year ago from a Doctoral candidate in South Africa. He did an amazing job comparing the creation of the Internet with the creation of the printing press. Here’s a few of the highlights that I remember about the introduction of the printing press:
Communication increased dramatically
Communication became a lot more impersonal
Communication become easier
People loved it!
People hated it!
It was viewed as dangerous
It was viewed as the greatest resource to date
So as we move forward – here’s the point… we’re on this journey whether we like it or not. I imagine years from now someone will have this discussion about the next big thing and point back to the Internet and use it as an example of how it was feared and revered. Either way, we’re going to take a week to look at some of the Ups and Downs to this resource.
Coming Up:
The Upside of the Internet for your child – Creating a private blog
One afternoon, after being in our new house for just under a week my wife and I saw our little guy running around the house like a madman.
“What are you doing buddy?” I asked inquisitively
With about as much frustration a 4 year old could muster, he yelled, “Looking for the bathroom… THIS IS JUST TOO HARD!”
Here’s Five Lessons I’m being reminded of while we’re on our new adventure:
#1 Transition is painful for everyone
#2 There will always be loss
There’s a loss of friends, a home, a sense of safety, the familiar
#3 It’s an adventure
… but some people in the family might not be up for a new adventure right now.
#4 It takes time to get settled.
(last move took us about 4 years to get settled) and don’t even ask about the 3 weeks it just took to get internet, cable, and new cell phones.
#5 We need to act like a family when it’s tough.
We reminded our kids last night that the truth of their life is this: friends will come and go, but you will always have your family (like it or not). Our conversation then turned south when I reminded them how when they were young I changed their diapers and I expect the same from them when I’m old…
Oh I almost forgot
#6… You HAVE TO LAUGH A LOT!
This is a gal that has totally captured the heart of our family! She has helped… saved the lives of SO many little ones. Here’s my challenge: This young lady “didn’t happen”. She was molded, taught, and released. Who are the unsung heroes? Her parents! Now watch this video and imagine how you’d respond if YOUR child wanted to be used by God in this way.
Check it out (HERE)
