Tag: kids

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Let Someone Else Worry About That

Last week our family had the opportunity to travel for Christmas. On the way home from seeing relatives we drove through western and central Pennsylvania. Due to some poor planning on my part, our drive coincided with the first significant wintry storm of the season in that area.

Things weren’t real bad at first; it was mostly rain. After awhile though, the rain started sounding different. It wasn’t water hitting the windshield, it was wet ice, and it started accumulating on the road.

I guess the snow plows were enjoying the holiday

Before long it got bad enough that the tires periodically lost their grip on the pavement and the traction control light frequently flashed on the dashboard while the tires suddenly spun faster and the speedometer spiked. I slowed down, but we started passing lots of accidents where people had spun out or slipped off the road. When it was all said and done, my wife counted at least eight incidents. The local emergency responders got numerous calls, and on two occasions, we stopped for just-happened accidents and stayed with those involved until someone showed up. (In one, I slowed down because I saw a car up ahead on the left side of the road that had spun around and was facing traffic while a woman and her teenage daughter ran across the highway to get to safety; in the other a man and his dog slid off the road in a car, spun around, and ended up in a creek bed in a few inches of water.) It was a harrowing trip for sure, and by the time we got home, I was worn out from focusing so hard for so long.

This guy and his dog were fine, but they were probably stuck there for hours.

That night I wanted to use the day’s events as a teachable moment with my kids. They’ve seen car accidents on the side of the road as we’ve driven past them before, but I think this was the first time they really experienced a drive in rough conditions and saw the fear in peoples’ eyes after their day took an unexpected turn. I don’t think my kids have ever seen me so thankful to have completed a trip safely.

The next day my oldest daughter let me know that she had done some thinking. She was more appreciative of a safe trip, for sure, but she also let me know she realized that she trusted my driving so much that it never even occurred to her that things might not go according to plan. She’s been driving with me her whole life without any major issues, so she didn’t even consider the fact that we, ourselves, could get in an accident.

This was a little sobering for me. (Should I ever let her know I’m not a perfect driver, or should I let her figure that out on her own?) I don’t know if the kids were worried at all about the drive, or if they were, how much. At least one of them, though, didn’t sweat it, because “Dad’s on it.” She had no idea I was white-knuckle driving while she was able to be largely care-free, perfectly at peace knowing that the situation had my full attention.

Now, just so you know, I’m under no illusion that I’m immune from accidents even if I’m paying full attention and my vehicle is perfectly maintained at all times. (They’re called “accidents” for a reason.) It made me think, though, of how wonderful it is that we have Bible verses that encourage us to come to our Savior and give Him our worries.

This is a rough time of year for many folks, for any number of reasons. I want to encourage you to be completely open and honest with God about your worries. Are you anxious? Tell Him why. Do you have doubts about your faith? Let Him know. I don’t know how He’ll work in your life, but I know that solid relationships include openness and honesty.

I hope you had a great Christmas, that you’re excited that Christ came in the flesh to save you, and that you have a blessed New Year! See you in January!

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“Abba” Ain’t Just a Swedish Pop Group

Last year as part of the effort to escape the oppression of COVID, our family went to the beach for an overnight. We had a lot of fun, got some sunburn, stayed in a hotel for the first time as a family, and ate some treats that we don’t normally have.

This was the first time in a few years that we had been to the beach. My son, 9 at the time, was now big enough to try using a boogie board in the surf. Since he was only 6 years old the previous time we’d been at the beach, he was a big kid now. In fact, he had even stopped calling me “Daddy” by this point. He was all kinds of excited that he had the chance to try out something cool.

Remember what it was like being a kid? When I was young I used to be the one that was rearing to go, but now I’m the slow parent. We stepped off the boardwalk and onto the sand, and he was ready to hit the water. My wife and I, on the other hand, still had to find a spot to set up blankets and umbrellas, then apply sunblock, then blow up whatever inflatable thing we had brought, have a drink of water, etc. Since my son was chomping at the bit to get started before I was ready to join him, I sort of explained what he needed to do in order to get going on the boogie board, and then he took off to give it a try.

He didn’t quite realize that you can’t really boogie board in the water that’s super close to the shoreline, where all the waves kept crashing. Being the enthusiastic guy that he is, he had fun giving it a try, but he wasn’t really able to get going for any significant distance.

After his old man finally got in the water, I gave it a try from some deeper water. I took a few test runs to make sure I was giving him accurate information. I found the technique that was working for me, then tried passing it along to him. In order for him to really get going, he had to come deeper, past the point where the waves were breaking.

He was fine with the idea of coming deeper, but it was tough for someone less than half my weight to do while holding a very buoyant board. As I stood in water that was probably waist deep for me, it was hard to watch him try to fight through the surf to get out deeper. His first attempt was a victim of poor timing; he ventured into the water at just the right time where the wave hit him while he was off balance. It knocked him down and pushed him back to shore. He got back up and gave it another try, but he tried again too soon. I would have said something to him, but I figured he’d see the next wave coming and hold off until it passed. Nope. The same thing happened and he had to pick himself up again. From where I stood, I could see he was having second thoughts about this. Holding the board made it so much more difficult to get out past the crashing waves when he ordinarily could’ve just dived through them or gone under them.

On the third try, with mounting failures fresh in his memory and fear building in his mind, I watched him enter the water much more tentatively. A wave approached him and it hit his board hard, reminding him of just how powerful the waves could be. I called to him, encouraging him from where I stood, but I could tell he wasn’t going to hang in there a whole lot longer. Moving slowly when he should’ve moved quickly, more waves bullied him. Struggling to keep a straight face, his eyes grew wide and he called out to me in fear, “Daddy, I don’t like this!”

It was a heart-wrenching moment. I moved quickly to him and helped get him steady. While still standing in the zone where the waves crashed, I told him I could help him get past the crazy part, but he was no longer willing to give it a try, he just wanted to get out of there as fast as possible. It pained me to see him give up, and I tried several more times to convince him to give it another go, but he had made up his mind to stick to the shallows.

The part of that experience that sticks out the most to me was when my little guy’s enthusiasm melted away and he went back to calling me “Daddy.” He gave up on something that I know he would’ve enjoyed if he’d just done things a little differently. I could’ve forced him to do it, but I wanted him to want to do it, and it didn’t seem right to make him try something he no longer wanted to do (especially since it could have resulted in him fearing the ocean for years to come).

In the Bible, God goes by many names. One of them is “Abba.” The word “Abba” is something that Hebrew-speaking children call their fathers…it’s like saying “Daddy.”

The word Abba isn’t used often in the New Testament. It’s only used by two people: Jesus and Paul. Joachim Jeremias, a German theologian, remarked on Jesus’ use of the word. He writes “[Jesus] spoke to God as a child to its father: confidently and securely, and yet at the same time reverently and obediently.”

It makes sense that the Son of God talks to His Father that way. The part that’s crazy and amazing is this verse that Paul writes in Romans 8:15 and following. Paul’s writing about how we’re changed once we receive the Holy Spirit, and he says The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

This means that we (Christians) are adopted into the family of God. Not only that, but we’re loved and accepted to such a high degree that we’re given the privilege of calling God the Father “Daddy!”

The next time you’re overwhelmed or just having a hard time in general, remember that not only can you call on your Heavenly Father…you can call on your Heavenly Daddy. If you tell Him “I don’t like this,” know that He sees you, He’s got you, and He can get you where you need to be.

God, thank you so much for understanding us so well and for giving us so many illustrations by which we can get a better sense of Your love for us. You’ve assured us we’ll have hard times in this life. When we do, remind us to call on You, seek comfort in You, and remember that You’ll give us what we need for each day. Amen.

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Face it, You Just Ain’t Got it Anymore

I used to have some pretty good hearing. Then a few decades rolled by.

My wife and I are normally pretty strict about the amount of “screen time” our kids get. Just seeing how mesmerized my son gets by anything electronic, we recognize we need to actively manage just how much time the kids are staring at something without blinking.

And yet…I enjoy a round of video games every now and then to blow off some steam, too. Right now I still have an original, old-school Nintendo with some of the best games (Contra and Dr. Mario get the most play time here). As you can imagine, the console and games are pretty old at this point, so they don’t really work all that well. If you had a Nintendo as a kid, you remember pulling the game out, blowing in the bottom, sticking it back in, and seeing if that worked any better. Sometimes the controller acted a little goofy and you’d yell to your buddy “I didn’t do it! It did it on its own!”

Well my wife surprised me with an updated version of the old console. It’s a mini version of the old Nintendo, and it has the same style of controllers hooked up to it (with some modern touches, of course). Now instead of having to switch game cartridges, there are over 600 games built directly into the console (including Contra and Dr. Mario).

This was a cool present, for sure. I normally wake up pretty early for work, so on Saturday mornings I usually wake up before everyone else, and sometimes I head down into the basement to play some games before anyone else wakes up. I even have an old TV to hook it up to because it looks weird when you connect it to a modern TV. So yes, I have a big ol’ cathode ray tube-looking monster that’s about two feet deep, sitting in a corner of my basement.

Because I know I’m going to have an audience if the kiddos find out what I’m doing (and I don’t want them to waste their screen time watching me play mindless nonsense), I turn off the lights and turn the volume down real quiet. My hope is that after they leave their bedroom and come down to the main floor, they’ll think they’re the first ones up and actually read a book or something.

So one time a few weeks ago when I was playing games in the basement and I heard someone walking around upstairs, I froze when the basement door opened. I mean, I didn’t make a sound. Whoever it was opened the door and stood silently at the top for a bit, just listening as I sat there motionless. Imagine my surprise when my son started bounding down the stairs into the basement and started talking to me before he could even see me.

“How did you even know I was down here?”

It turns out he was able to hear something that I’ve lost the ability to hear. As you age, even if you don’t have any damage to your hearing, your ability to hear certain frequencies decays at a predictable rate. My son could hear the high-frequency noise that the old TV makes when it’s turned on. I marveled at this for a bit, proud of his stellar hearing, but then it slipped my mind and I forgot about it. (You can even take some internet hearing tests that guess your age by your ability to hear. Unfortunately it says I have the hearing of someone that’s 5-7 years older than me. Guess there will be hearing aids in my future.)

Fast forward a couple of weeks. I was playing video games again one day after work while the kids played with neighbors outside. After they got too hot to continue, they all came inside. The door at the top of the basement stairs opened, and one of the neighbor kids almost right away said something like “it sounds like someone’s playing an old arcade game down here.” It turns out his family has one of the big throwback ACTUAL arcade games (like Pacman) at his house, and the high-frequency noise it makes sounds similar to my stone-age TV.

It’s official. I simply don’t have the tools I used to have.

As time goes by, you’re going to lose some of the capabilities you once possessed. What’s important is that you need to use the ones you still have (or the ones you’ve gained over time) in a way that would please God.

Picture yourself in “the good old days.” What did you have back then that you don’t have now? You’re probably thinking of physical assets. Strength, health, good looks, the ability to eat or drink whatever you want without putting on weight.

What’s also missing from back then? Think about all the mistakes that younger version of you still needed to go through. Those mistakes led to hard-won experience that gives you more wisdom in the choices you make today. How about income? Who’s making more, that younger you or the current you? With more resources comes a greater ability to fund God’s work. I’m sure family looks different, too. Back then there may have been more older generations still around in your family. Now maybe you’re on the older side of that spectrum, but those that are younger bring a special happiness to your heart.

The point of all this, of course, is that time marches on and even though the focus tends to be more on what you’ve lost, there are also some things you’ve gained.

The way you honor the Lord may not look like it once did, but that doesn’t mean you should stop using your current gifts, resources, and time to please Him just because you can’t do it the same anymore.

So whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God. –1 Corinthians 10:31

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Empty’s Never Felt So Full

This weekend is Mother’s Day. Gents and kids, if you haven’t made plans yet, the clock’s ticking.

Moms are special. Not only did I have a mom as I was growing up, but I’m also married to a mom of three kids.

Don’t get me wrong, dads are special too, but c’mon, when a kid needs comfort, Dad’s not the one they go looking for (at least in my experience). I’ve had at least one of my kids, crying, walk up to me when they’re hurt and ask where Mommy is. One night while Mommy was away overnight, my oldest came into our room after having a bad dream. Upon remembering that Mommy wasn’t there, she stopped to think about whether it was even worth waking me up. If Daddy’s the one that says “walk it off” or “rub some dirt on it,” Mommy’s the one that gets down on her knees, wipes away the tears, and knows how to make it all better.

Many times when we think of the character of God, we think of things that we normally associate with males. What we sometimes forget though, is that Adam and Eve were both patterned after God.

When God created mankind, he made them in the likeness of God. He created them male and female and blessed them. And he named them ‘Mankind’ when they were created. –Genesis 5:1-2

This may come as a shock, but males and females are different from one another. Even so, the traits God possesses are manifested in the two genders He made as described in Genesis.

Now obviously you can’t divide these traits into strictly “male” or “female” characteristics. The noblest attributes any of us display are merely a reflection, a result of God’s creating us in His image. That includes fairness, unselfishness, patience, righteous anger, compassion, tenderness, a comforter, and a sense of justice, among others.

To the moms in my life, I’ve seen you display many, if not all of these traits. I’m thankful God made you either with the attributes already built in or with the ability to learn them. Thank you for being godly examples.

I’m including a song that describes the kind of love a mom often displays (especially new moms), but it’s not a song you’d normally associate with Mother’s Day. “Poured out, used up, still givin’, stretching me out to the end of my limits…this is what love feels like.”

For all the moms out there, thank you for your constant love and support, thank you for being there, and thank you for believing in us.

Happy Mother’s Day to you all!

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Awestruck

I enjoy parts of the Bible that give sneak peeks into the realm we can’t see. Specifically, there are parts in the Old Testament books of Ezekiel and Daniel, along with the New Testament book of Revelation, where the authors convey experiences where they visit places that our current bodies were not designed to withstand. These passages more or less illustrate that our bodies cannot physically handle being in the presence of divine glory.

Often the authors of these passages will say something like “I fell on my face” or “I fainted.” Daniel says in Daniel 10:8 that “no strength remained in me; for my vigor was turned to frailty in me, and I retained no strength.” (See also Ezekiel 1:28 and 3:23, Daniel 8:17, and Revelation 1:17)

Can you imagine being so awestruck that your strength just gets sapped from your body?

I can remember a time like that. We took a family vacation to the beach when we only had two very young kids.

We’d gone to the same beach about two years earlier, when we only had our daughter, but our son arrived a couple of months later. Even though she had been less than two years old for her first beach trip, pictures helped her remember the trip and helped get her excited to go back.

My son, on the other hand, had never been there before. Now roughly 23 months old, he saw that his big sister was excited, and that Mommy and Daddy talked about the upcoming trip with smiles. When the day finally came, we took an hours-long car ride on a rainy morning and arrived at our home for the week, just a few blocks from the ocean.

We were all excited to go see the beach right away, especially after being cooped up in a car for so long. We started the walk toward the shore with a bounce in our step.

Off to the beach for a first look!

As we crested the dune and caught our first glimpse of the ocean though, my little guy grew quiet and slowed down. He became almost lethargic. His boundless energy disappeared.

I picked him up, and he cuddled in close. He clung to me in the face of something that, to him, obliterated his concept of just how big the world was. He’d never before experienced the breeze coming off the ocean or the roar of the waves that crashed on top of themselves as they beat against the shore; it was unsettling for him and it sapped his strength.

Those verses listed above give us a sneak peek at just how small we really are, how all the things that stress us out on a daily basis are completely irrelevant compared to the bigger reality.

Stunned

I look at that picture now, years later, and think about how sweet it was to have my little guy awed into a stupor, silently clinging to his daddy and afraid to let go. What a picture of how our Heavenly Father is there for us and is completely at ease dealing with things that would blow our minds. To me it’s a beautiful image of our acknowledgement that we’re inadequate, and our complete dependence on His strength to sustain us. He holds us and comforts us, safe in His arms, even in the face of elements that are seemingly full of rage and beyond our capacity to process it all.

As we start a new chapter in American history, look out for one another, support each other, and spread the news of Christ’s love for us. Whether hopeful or fearful for the future, this is our calling.

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Don’t Dance Around the Issue

So uh, this probably isn’t news to many of the people that know me, but I guess I’m a little strange. While most people try to avoid socially awkward situations, I often enjoy them. We’ve got a little neighbor kid who’s learned this the hard way.

He’s a nice enough kid, and my kids enjoy playing with him, but he’s got an aversion to asking if my kids want to play. He really wants to play with them, he just doesn’t want to ask them to play. One time I was outside doing yardwork when this guy (I’ll call him Billy), showed up. He didn’t notice that I was there, and I wanted to see what he’d do, so I just kind of made sure I didn’t make any loud noises. Billy hung around in front of my house for awhile, quietly at first, but when nobody noticed him, he started making noises or singing or something, so maybe someone inside would open the door, see him, and ask him if he wanted to play.

It’s also funny when he knocks on the door. I’ll open the door and see him standing there. He won’t say anything, so I’m usually the first to speak.

“Hi Billy.”

“Hi.”

That awkward silent pause. Sometimes I’ll make it more awkward and just go in a circle:

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

I’m giving him plenty of opportunities here, but I don’t want to just bypass what he came to ask.

“How are ya?”

“Good.”

Another pause, only this time I go a really long time without saying anything. He stands there fidgeting, not quite sure whether to start laughing or be really uncomfortable. Hoping to get him where he’s trying to go, I’ll try to make it a little easier for him:

“So what’s up?”

“Um…I was wondering if your kids could come outside and play.”

Finally! It’s okay to lead with that; I don’t expect a whole lot of chit chat and pleasantries from a little boy. (Some of you might conclude that he acts this way because of past interactions with me. I see where you might think that, but no, he was like this the first time I answered his knock.)

I had fun looking through “awkward dad” pictures, but finally settled on this one. Don’t worry, Billy doesn’t look this sad.

My son is the same way sometimes. He’ll drop tons of hints about something he wants to do, but he doesn’t like asking. If he doesn’t ask anything, I don’t answer him.

Why are we like that? I don’t know, it’s just human nature, I guess. Maybe we’re too proud to ask for stuff; we want people to sense our needs or desires and simply fulfill them. If they voluntarily gave us what we wanted well, we didn’t need to ask for it, did we?

These make for some pretty goofy interactions. Now imagine what it’s like for God to watch us drop all kinds of hints for Him without actually making a request. It’s not a whole lot different from watching these two little guys try to get what they want. We might say things with more eloquence or be more subtle in what we’re trying to do, but I can imagine God standing at the door like I do, with a little smirk on His face, watching us fidget without wanting to actually ask. “So…what’s up?” He knows exactly what you’re getting at! He just wants you to say it!

Life is still a little crazy these days, and it’s thrown a lot of people for a loop. As you’re spending time in prayer, don’t dance around the issues that are on your heart and mind. Speak plainly with God. Are you anxious? Tell Him. At the end of your rope? Let Him know. Make your requests known. I’m not gonna lie, He’s not a vending machine or a genie, so sometimes the answer’s going to be “no.” Using a strategy of not asking isn’t going to get you anywhere, though.

Regardless of your political affiliation, please pray that God grants wisdom and insight to your local, state, and national leaders.

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Stop To Think About Why You Just Did That

I’ve got a twofer for you this time.

Way back when the world was normal and people went to work and shook hands and stuff, my wife would watch her friends’ kids when they were in a jam or just needed to run a quick errand.

I’m a very blessed guy, and my kids are still young enough to come give me a hug when I walk in the door from work. One day as I arrived home, I didn’t know it, by my wife was watching a friend’s little girl, Emmy. Emmy was younger than my kiddos, and she kind of followed their lead in whatever they were playing.

I walked in the door and my kids, who were a bit more wired than normal from running and playing with someone else, came running to hug me and gave a few shouts of “Daddyyyyyyyy!” It was a sweet moment for any dad, but I couldn’t help but smile as I watched Emmy try to figure out what to do. She was excited right along with the rest of the kids, but she wasn’t about to run up and hug some grown-up dude that wasn’t in her life other than right now at this very moment. She came running over to where we all were, and with a big smile, started jumping up and down. She was happy, but she didn’t know why.

Then, on another note, this past summer our family took a vacation to see some other family up in northwestern Ohio. This area was very near Lake Erie, and our family up there enjoys taking the ferry out to Kelley’s Island for a day of biking and walking around on the island. At the end of our island visit we all headed back onto the ferry for the ride back across to “the mainland.”

Now, I don’t know why this happens, but it’s one of those inexplicable “guy things.” I was standing at the back of the ferry with my son and one of my nephews, watching the island fade further into the distance. As I looked down at the wake the ferry made as it plowed through the lake, I gave in to the overwhelming urge to spit into the water. I think it was to get a sense of how fast we were going. Inside two seconds, and without a word, both my son and my nephew had also spit over the rail.

These are two fun little stories that help illustrate one very simple idea: no matter who you are, whether you’re a nine-year old playing with a little kid or a sunburned uncle on a family vacation, you have influence on other people. At the same time, other people have influence on you. Be mindful of the way you’re using the influence you possess; when it comes to meaningful interactions, are you using it to build people up or to tear them down? Assume there is no middle or neutral ground…can people see glimpses of Christ in you?

It’s also important to be mindful of those you allow to influence you. The authors you read, the speakers and songs you hear, and the entertainment you watch are all defining the norms you may adopt as your own. This is why it’s so important for Christians to spend time regularly reading the Bible. If you’re a Christian that doesn’t spend time reading the letter God wrote to you, it makes it much harder to “be in the world but not of it.” Instead the principles of Christian living get elbowed out of the way and shoved toward the back of your mind, while the stronger influences take root and play a more central role in guiding your thoughts and actions.

Our lives look much different than they did a year ago. There’s much more time for binge-watching things or ripping through a lot more books than normal. I urge you to guard your mind. (If you’re already making excuses about why it’s okay to spend so much time with one of the things you’ve been watching/reading, that may be an indicator that you and your conscience need to get on more honest terms.)

Well hey, we’re getting closer to the weekend. I hope you’re hanging in there and that you have (or that you had) a great day today. Use your influence to point others to Christ and what He’s done for them. They may not know.

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If You Just Need a Smile

You know, considering everything that’s going on in our nation right now, I just kind of feel like it would be a good idea to try to help you smile.

I’ve got three kids, and they’ve each got their own distinct personality. When they were little and they did something cute or funny, we’d write it down in what we now refer to as “the quote book.” It’s full of little stories or fun quotes that came from the kids or the sleep-deprived things that we did as parents of young kiddos. Now that it’s at least a few years after some of the quotes, our kids enjoy when I pull out the book and relay some stories we’ve written down.

Lately I’ve been taking a look through the book, and thought I’d share a few entries with you. Just for context, I’ve got a daughter, then a son, then another daughter.

My older daughter used to pick the most inopportune times to tell us about her day. When you have multiple young kids in the house, life is a blur. There’s not a whole lot of conscious thought that extends out past the next meal or bedtime. The minutes leading up to dinner were a mad rush of “go potty,” “okay, who still needs to wash their hands?” all while getting hot food on the table and scooping out some of the hot food early so it can cool off enough for the kids. Right as we sat down and things got quiet enough to pray, our daughter would pick that moment to start telling all of us about some event from earlier that day that was memorable in her mind. We’d all sit around the table, holding hands, about to pray but unable to begin. We could’ve shushed her, but…that just didn’t seem right. Then, just as she finished recounting her tale, but before we could jump in and start praying, her spellbound little brother would ask a question about her epic yarn. (“Nooooo!!!”) This happened at bedtime on a regular basis, too.

She could also open “childproof” caps before she could put together a complete sentence. We kept them away from her for awhile, and she lost the knack for it, but it still kept us on our toes.

She could also open “childproof” caps before she could put together a complete sentence. We kept them away from her for awhile, and she lost the knack for it, but it still kept us on our toes.

My little guy was the craziest blend of sweet and sour. He had heart-melting moments when you just couldn’t believe how compassionate or kind he was, and he’d have moments that make you want to pull out your hair. When he was little enough that he still slept in a crib, there was a time when my wife and I were laying him down and he saw his favorite little stuffed dog laying in the crib waiting for him, and my little guy let out a giggle. It made me appreciate how wonderful it must be to laugh simply because you’re happy.

On the flip side of his personality, there were other times he’d just utter blatant, unprompted lies. If he said “I don’t have anything in my mouth,” it’s a solid bet he just got into some snacks that he knew he wasn’t supposed to touch. He also knew that naptimes were for napping, but he loved to get up and look out the window. As he got big enough to come downstairs on his own after a nap, he’d reassure us by seeing us and saying right away “I wasn’t looking out my window.” The stool near the disheveled curtains suggested otherwise.

It’s also fun to look through the book and find little exchanges like when he and I were watching the winter Olympics on TV together when he was probably about 3. During a ski-jumping event, I told him “That guy’s from Norway.” He looked at the screen, interested, and said “Oh, is that his home planet?”

There are some slapstick memories, too. Parenting is a full-contact sport. All of our kids enjoyed when my wife and I read books to them. My younger daughter, when she was a toddler, had no concept of causing pain in other people. If I was laying on the floor and said to her “do you want me to read a book?”…man, I’d better watch out. She’d take off and find a book to read, which was great, but on her return trip, I needed to keep my gloves up. She’d come bouncing back at me in a full-speed toddler waddle, holding the book out in front of her. In the beginning, I figured she’d slow down as she got close. Nope. She came running with her arms stretched out in front of her, and she didn’t stop until she slammed me in the head with the book. (It didn’t take me long to learn to pay attention when she came running with a book, though I think it took me longer than it should have.)

This is the same little one who, when I held her in church during the live music, would watch intently everything going on up on stage. One time everything was quiet as the worship leader prayed, but my little girl kept her eyes open and was mesmerized by all the light reflecting off the shiny instruments. During the prayer, when her face was about six inches away from mine, she let slip a little burp that smelled like Cheerios.

Also, as our third child, she’s the only one I’ve used a dust-buster on.

And finally, to cap it off, here’s a story with all three. There was a phase (at least, I hope it’s a phase) where my older daughter liked to over-dramatize things, so she’d pretend to cry at certain things. The problem was that anytime my younger daughter saw someone cry, she thought it was her cue to start apologizing, even if it wasn’t her fault or she didn’t know what was happening. She’d keep doing it until someone acknowledged her, too, and would get louder as she went. Making it more fun was the fact that she couldn’t pronounce an “r” sound very well at that age. There was one instance where I sat in the living room and my wife and all three kids were in the kitchen. My wife and older daughter started acting silly, and began pretending to cry about something. Right around then my son, who needed to hear the same thing three times before it started sinking in, got hyper and did something he shouldn’t have, which distracted my wife. Imagine the sound of fake crying from one daughter, my wife talking firmly to my little guy, and an ever-more-persistent little voice saying “sowwy. Sowwy! SOWWY!”

You know, despite what you see on TV, there’s still some good stuff going on out there. Despite what you may see and hear, there are some good people in the world. Keep your chin up and keep smiling, because like I’ve said before, your joy and positive attitude in Christ is one of the things that will make people take notice, especially in times like this.

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Someone Call Security

Consider this paragraph a brief public service announcement: The major news outlets seem to have perfected the art of presenting lots of material that evokes powerful emotions without giving many facts. That being the case, I’d encourage you to limit the amount of time you spend watching the news (if it’s important enough, you’ll find out about it). I’m not encouraging ignorance, I’m simply noting that when there are few facts to present, you don’t need all the conjecture that gets you amped up in the process. If anxiety is a problem for you, I can just about guarantee this will help you out. Anyway, I thought I’d take this opportunity to share something a little more lighthearted.

My wife is one of four sisters, all of whom are married. At one point three of those sisters were married to men in the Air Force. As you might imagine, Uncle Sam has a way of scattering military folks around the country (and sometimes the globe). As a result, it’s not easy to arrange family get-togethers where everyone is present, and sometimes we can go for years without seeing certain family members in person.

When we found out one of my far-flung brothers-in-law was going to be flying through our area on his way to a deployment overseas, we decided to go meet him on his last layover before leaving the states. The logistics weren’t going to work out to bring him back to our place, so we collectively decided we’d go hang out at a mall near the airport and go out to eat while we were together. Some malls are great for sitting around and relaxing while others aren’t. We weren’t familiar with this mall, so after we picked him up from the airport we just sort of showed up at the mall and started walking around.

At the time we had two young kiddos who were generally well-behaved, but they would only stay happy for so long unless we found something to keep them occupied. We figured there had to be a play place around somewhere nearby, but for some reason the mall directory in this particular mall was very difficult to find. We found a spot with games and flashing lights that would keep the kids occupied for a little while, then my brother-in-law and I parted ways with my wife and kids and set out looking either for a playground or a mall directory.

We turned past a few corners and walked down a few hallways, but still couldn’t find anything helpful. Mindful that the clock was ticking and that walking around a mall like this was probably not going to make the start of a deployment any less stressful, I decided to go against the male instinct and ask for directions.

I spotted a mall cop standing on one of those motorized Segues. I didn’t think about it until after the words came out of my mouth, but I probably got us onto mall security’s radar screen. If you were a mall cop, what would you think if two thirty-something dudes with military haircuts and generally humorless demeanors walk up to you and say “hey man, where do the kids hang out in this mall?”

I haven’t been back to that mall since then, but if I did, I wouldn’t be surprised if I were tailed by my own personal mall cop soon after being identified.

Strange story, I know. Just meant to give you a chuckle. Anyway, it’s rough out there these days, but don’t let that steal your joy in Christ. Your joy in Christ is one of the things that will attract nonbelievers to the light you have inside you, especially during difficult times. Don’t let stuff get you down, because in times like this, your joy shines bright, and people need that right now.

Take care of yourselves and take care of each other.

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I Hear What You’re Saying, But…

If I told you I’m a parent, you’d probably believe me, but it’s not the same thing as seeing evidence that I’m a parent.

I came home from work one day and saw a Frisbee on the roof over our garage. We often have misspelled words and stick figures drawn in different colors of chalk on our driveway or sidewalk. In the summertime I often see little bits of broken water balloons on our porch. Inside the house, the living room is seldom “all the way” cleaned up, even if we tell the kids to make it “Mommy and Daddy mode.”

We have kids, and there are signs of them everywhere. (It’s unquestionably a good thing, even though sometimes there are a few too many signs.)

These things, in and of themselves, are not proof that I’m a parent. To an observer though, these signs make the notion a lot more believable.

There’s something similar when it comes to Christianity. If you claim to be a Christian, yet you haven’t changed at all from the way you were before joining the faith, something’s probably not quite right.

Galations 5:22-23 describes the qualities that a Christian will develop over time. The author’s not saying that only a Christian could have these qualities, but, in the same way that the Frisbee on my roof is probably there because of a kid rather than an adult, a Christian’s life will contain signs, indicators, or evidence of the faith they’re claiming.

When someone accepts Christ, at that moment the Holy Spirit sets up shop in that person’s life. What does that mean? It means that from that moment on, God starts working on changing your attitude to be more like His. I heard someone say once that God accepts you for who you are, but He loves you too much to leave you that way.

My mom used to have a tee shirt with a three-by-three grid on it. Inside each box was a picture of some kind of fruit, but instead of labeling them “grapes” or “watermelon,” they’d say things like “patience” and “self control.” These nine things (love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control) collectively make up what the Bible calls “the fruit of the Spirit.”

Having these fruits is not something that happens quickly. Fruit takes a long time to grow. You can’t put in a weekend of intensive Bible reading and prayer and have these things spring forth in your life; it takes time. The outcome of being a Christian and continuously pursuing a relationship with Christ is a life that is characterized by these nine fruits.

Consider taking a closer look at these traits. Is there one (or several) that you’d like to develop or increase in your walk with Christ?

Happy birthday Mom! Love ya!