From the mouths of children

A little boy was overheard praying: 'Lord, if you can't make me a better boy, don't worry about it. I'm having a real good time like I am.'

After the christening of his baby brother in church, Jason sobbed all the way home in the back seat of the car. His father asked him three times what was wrong. Finally, the boy replied, 'That preacher said he wanted us brought up in a Christian home, and I wanted to stay with you guys.'

A Sunday school teacher asked her children as they were on the way to church service, 'And why is it necessary to be quiet in church?' One bright little girl replied, 'Because people are sleeping.'

A father was at the beach with his children when the four-year-old son ran up to him, grabbed his hand, and led him to the shore where a seagull lay dead in the sand. 'Daddy, what happened to him?' the son asked. 'He died and went to Heaven,' the Dad replied. The boy thought a moment and then said, 'Did God throw him back down?'

A wife invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to their six-year-old daughter and said, 'Would you like to say the blessing?' 'I wouldn't know what to say,' the girl replied. 'Just say what you hear Mommy say,' the wife answered. The daughter bowed her head and said, 'Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?'

Anyone else have any stories of funny things that you have heard children say?

New swingset

Our kids, the neighbor kids, and kids from our church have already been enjoying the new swingset.

Shayna's Birthday

Today is my daughter Shayna's 10th birthday. She is growing up to be a lovely young lady.

Today, I am reminded how fast time flies. I am wondering, "how did she get so old so fast?".

Are there things in life that remind you how quickly life passes?

Joshua's wedding debut

The ring bearer

Other members of the wedding party
With Shayna and Matthew

Soccer Dad

Today Lisa was at her women's Bible study in the morning so I got to spend the morning with the kids at their soccer games. Joshua and Shayna's teams both lost, but we all had fun. Matthew came home the dirtiest and he didn't even play in a game.

Daddy Day

For the last four months, my wife has been student teaching to finish her undergrad in elementary ed. For those months, Friday has been declared "daddy day" for my three year old Matthew.

Today that meant he had to sit through a meeting that I needed to be at on the south side of Chicago. He fell asleep on the ride back home. Since he had endured the meeting, I decided to let him run around the park for a while before we went home.

I can honestly say that I have gotten a lot less done on Fridays for the last several months as it relates to work and ministry, but the time has not been wasted. I consider it a great privilege and responsibility to be a father. I am thankful that life has dictated to me to take this time with him.

It is a tragedy to me, that some are so involved in serving others and building the kingdom of God that they have totally skipped their responsibility at home. I love my wife and kids and don't want the years to pass without valuing the time with them.

Lisa finishes student teaching next week and Friday will change back to another day with mom, but I will continue to invest my time in the ones I love so dearly.

Anyone else want to share how they balance family, work, and ministry?

Young Blogger

Parenting

Proverbs 22:6
Train a child in the way he should go, and when he is old he will not turn from it.

Last night I was sitting with my children, explaining to them some things about the Bible and who God is. My older children had a comment and a question for everything I said, but my youngest son Matthew, who is not yet three, kept standing up, climbing on them, and trying to get our attention.

I was holding a Bible and asked him "What is this book?"

He said "God's Word".

He knew what we had been talking about. Maybe not every detail, but a lot.
Training our children starts early. Children are learning things from a very early age and we need to take seriously the responsibility of teaching them and also the life that we model for them.

What are some ways that we can teach our children?