Pro226

I’ve heard it said that you can learn more as a teacher than you can as a student.

I wish that it was a thought like that that led me to pass on my leading of our family devotions last week, but it wasn’t.

The truth was… I just felt crummy.

We try to spend time each night reading the Bible with our kids. OK… maybe I am being a bit generous saying it is every night. We ASPIRE to read the Bible every night. We tend to ACTUALLY get it in a few times a week. I’m working on that.

Last week, the timing was right. The kids were in their jammies early, and we just had a natural pause in our evening. But I was losing my voice and my wife was away. So I gave the family Bible to our 12 year old and asked her to read the reading for the night*.

She did so, and then followed my lead by asking a few questions about the reading. It was really neat to hear the reading from her perspective. The way she asked questions after the reading was a really neat insight into how she really processed what she read.

As a dad, I view my daughters’ spiritual growth as one of my primary responsibilities. But perhaps that doesn’t always mean I need to do all the talking. I think I may be letting them take turns leading the discussion in the future.

*By the way… we use the Family Reading Bible in our home. It provides a number of really great reading plans, complete with discussion questions. It’s really helped.

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How do we really know kids lives are being transformed?  How do we know they are listening for the Holy Spirit and living dependent on Him?

A couple times each week, I get to lead the kids at our church in a largegroup setting. Sometimes I look out at the kids and think “there is no way he is getting it or she is getting it”.  They are all wiggly and distracted and talking to their friends and not paying attention to the story at all.  That lesson was a loss for them.

Then after the lesson one of the wiggly distracted girls comes up to me and says, “did you know I am learning how to put others first?”

Whoa.  What?  No way.  She actually got something out of the lesson and it was the main point.

Okay.  I stand corrected.  Maybe it’s possible kids can “get it” even when they don’t look like it.  What has shaped my view of what this looks like anyway?  Is it that I expect them to look like adults when they are connected to the teaching and listening well to the Holy Spirit?  Maybe.

I have realized that I need to step back and see with fresh eyes.

Transformation in adults can be subtle, unless they tell you how they are growing.  I think it might be the same with kids.  So I am trying to watch for the subtleties…the child who helps her grandmother, the child who holds a door for a friend, the child who plays with another whom no one else would consider playing with, the child who has an interest in reading the Bible, the child who wants to pray, the child who…

I think transformation is happening.  I think to see it, we may just need to be still and watch.  Can you see your kids change?

(Photo: Flickr)

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If you have kids, have worked with kids, have ever been a kid, or can define the word “kid”, you know that entitlement is an increasing issue.

How do we battle the entitlement attitude with our kids?

Carey Nieuwhof posted a great post on the Orange Parents Blog that is worth checking out:

Five Ways to Fight Entitlement in Your Kids

So here’s our workshop for the day…

What have YOU done to fight entitlement in the lives of your kids? Share your ideas here!

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Like many boys, Bryce Morgan, pastor of Way of Grace Church in Buckeye. AZ, grew up on comic books. As he got older, he began to make the connection between some of the heroic values he was reading, and a real hero who DOES exist.

In his comic “Rescue Me”, Morgan points out that Jesus has more power than any comic book character, and really DID sweep in to save a world that was in trouble.

However, far from putting together a comic tale of a “Super-hero Jesus”, Morgan’s “Capitan Sun” is used to point out comic book concepts that mirror biblical values.

Issues like Evil (“The Bad-Guys”), Humility (“Your Secret Identity”), and the Church (“A Team of Heros”) are presented in devotional breakouts throughout the comic book.

The devotional messages are perfect for a family discussion time, or independent reading.

It’s great for boys, but I have all daughters and they each devoured it pretty quickly.

It isn’t terribly long (around 32 pages), but is a great way to introduce your comic book fans to biblical truths in the story of the ULTIMATE Super Hero.

If you’d like more information, or would like to order, you can visit http://itscaptainsun.com.

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I am the father of 3 daughters.

That puts me in a pretty significant role in our family.

I view it as my job to show my girls what a Godly man/father/husband should be like.

On top of that, God uses the model of a father and a child when describing His relationship to us. So my relationship with my girls needs to be a reflection of THAT relationship as well.

No pressure… right?

One of the elements we try to add into our family life, is the concept of a “daddy-daughter date”.

These dates are one-on-one time with my girls. They’ve ranged from trips to the mall, dinner and a movie, or just an hour or so at the coffee (hot cocoa) shop.

I’d love for them to be monthly… but it’s just something I need to get better at.

I came across a great post from Perry Noble today. (Read more here)

He lays out some GREAT “whys” and “hows”.

Dads… do you make daddy/daughter dates a part of your family life? Moms… do you do something similar?

I’d love to hear what’s working!

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