Why things aren't the same

Two days ago I experienced Thanksgiving that I thought would be reminiscent of my childhood. For the first time in many years I would be with my dad, sister, grandparents, and great-aunt. It isn't everybody that would've been at a family holiday growing up, but it was the closest thing in years...but it wasn't quite as I remember it in childhood.

What I found is that things have changed...not because of anyone in particular...but because life itself has changed. I now have 3 kids which don't allow for hours and hours of card playing and competition (we were a bunch of card gaming junkies!). Much of the time was spent in some conversation, but mostly interacting with my kids.

The next day was spent at my mom's. After having 'Thanksgiving breakfast' (and it was good) we spent most of the rest of the day...playing with the kids. What made my memories growing up so special was that the older adults spent time with me. It seems weird to me now that we don't spend as much time (as adults) just playing games with each other...but I realized how much fun it was...for everyone...to just hang out with the little ones.

With the stages of life changing my expectations must adjust as well. It just seems strange that my grandfather (now 86) can't shoot baskets anymore like when I was a kid (and he was in his 60's). Childhood does something mysterious in all of us. For those who have grown past it childhood points to a time gone past. For those experiencing it they are pushed by culture to move by it. I believe it is a high calling to help our kids enjoy being kids. It reminds us of how simple life CAN be...and perhaps should be. Far too often we make it complex, and let's face it, we know how to sap the fun out of everything by taking it too serious. But not kids. They remind us of the innocense of life.

The next time you're with your kids...or someone else's...don't get frustrated for how un-adult they are. Rejoice in how un-adult they make you feel. Children breed hope for the future and rekindle the simple joy of life.

Theology of a 4 Year Old

Cool little story from yesterday...

I was sitting with my son talking about God and how God lives in us through the Holy Spirit (yea, I know...deep for a 4 year old!).

Conner: "So I'm his house?".

Me: Yea, something like that.

Conner: Well, He sure has a lot of room to run around...

Profound little thought from my 4 year old son. I heard something last week that struck me in thinking about how to share faith with children. It was the thought that we should share the faith in a way that is comprehensible to them, and as they grow and mature, what we share should grow and mature as well.

So we have to look at our kids in the stage where they are. For my newborn, sharing faith with him is praying over him and singing to him. For my two year old it is reading Bible stories, praying with her, and singing songs. With my four year old it is answering questions about Jesus and the Bible for an hour and a half long car ride home.

I'm very convicted we need to be very intentional about sharing the Christian faith with our children. I love hearing stories of young people who have a deep heritage of faith in their family. They didn't have to go off and do the things most people do before they find Christ. Within their deep heritage they grow in faith until one day their crisis experience isn't deliverance from drugs or alcohol but a crisis experience in making the faith they grew up with their own.

Not sure where it is, but it makes the thought of "God's faithfulness to a thousand generations to those who are faithful" all the more real.