One of the things that I have always enjoyed about kids is their blatent honesty.  I am not sure at what point in life we learn to begin lieing to ourselves and the rest of the world, but honesty is a quality I am trying to preserve in my children for as long as possible. 

My six year old daughter has been a constant source of unfiltered perspective on herself and the world around her.  The fact that she is quite like me has led to more than one opportunity to re-discover my own crap in a very insightful and convicting way.

Her latest gem came several nights ago as we continued our discussion regarding a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  We have done our best to raise Rylee in a home environment where she is free to discover who God has made her and where we pray that she will discover who God is himself.  Because we recognize that in our role as parents we can make her do just about anything we want her to do we have been very careful not to manipulate her into praying a prayer of surrender that she doesn’t understand nor desire.

Over the course of the last six months she has begun to ask great questions regarding what it means to have a personal relationship with Christ.  She has asked why Jesus had to die, and why God would send his children to hell.  She understands sin and that she is a sinner.  In fact, the last question she asked me revealed that she understands just about everything she needs to on the subject.

I was tucking her in and could tell there was something on her mind.  When I asked her what she was thinking she inquired “why does Jesus have to be so bossy?“.  I knew immediately where this was coming from, you see the night before she had asked both Heidi and I if we had gotten saved (made a decision to follow Christ with our lives).  We both answered that we had and she asked how we did it.  I then explained that it simply required belief that Jesus was God, that you were a sinner, that He died and rose again to forgive us of our sins, and a genuine surrender of one’s life to His control.  I explained that Jesus not only wanted to forgive us of our sins and save us from hell, but also to know us and be the boss of our lives.

That last one was the sticking point.  She had wondered aloud why Jesus had to be in control.  I explained that it was because He created us and knew what was best for us and that His desire for control in our lives was only because He knew that if we did what we wanted to do we would destroy our own lives.  I explained further that obedience to His will and plan for our lives was the only way we could experience the life God intended for us.  She said OK and that we could talk more about it later.

She must of thought about it most of that next day – it seems that for her, like me, the idea of surrender is a difficult thing.  She gets it – now it’s just a matter of her being willing to give control of her little life over to my heavenly Daddy.  I’m praying that she does as soon as possible but am committed to allowing it to be her decision and in His time.

When you talk to your heavenly Father today, do me a favor and pray for my little girl – and her daddy.  That we would both be willing to yield our lives in surrender to Him. 

Her for the first time and me for the millionth.

God is Good – thanks for reading. 

Josh

It’s amazing how much better a small seven point buck looks when it’s in the hands of your three year old son. 

As a 21st century dad I have to be intentional about spending time with my kids.  Even as a work from home father I find it difficult to carve out the quality time I imagine fathers of old having with their sons.  While valuable, the moments found with my kids between the buzz of my blackberry aren’t enough.

As a follower of Christ I seek to practice the “in the way” method of fatherhood taught in scripture.  You know, parenting that is done in the midst of daily life, where children catch their understanding of God and his wisdom simply by watching and following their dads.  

I believe that our heavenly Father clearly practiced this method of parenting with us by sending his Son to this world to walk among us and to be for us an example.

Often however I find it hard to get significant “in the way” time.  It’s not like my young children can be on sales calls with me, attend my meetings, or help me respond to email.  I often imagine it was easier to be a father when “in the way” meant they helped you in the barn, or in the field.  I imagine though, truth be told, that fathers of old took their three year old sons in the field with them because they had to work in the field 14 hours a day and they too were struggling with the “necessities” of life that tend to rob our children of us.

All that to say – as I prepared for a recent trip to see my family in OH, I decided to be intentional about some time with my oldest son Kade.  I called ahead and asked my dad to set up a deer feeder behind his barn so that Kade and I could spend some time in the stand together.  Between the feeder, the corn, the new arrows and broad-heads it ended up being an expensive 15 minutes (we shot the buck 15 minutes after we sat down).  But as my “little buck” pulled up and pulled the trigger on his first little buck I knew we had created an “in the way” moment that would last a lifetime. 

The time spent waiting, shooting, tracking, gutting, and dragging were moments he and I will remember for the rest of our lives.  They were also moments that didn’t occur by accident.

So for this father – watching this adorably disgusting video is a great reminder to me that being a good father won’t happen by accident.

Here’s to our kids and to making them a priority.

Josh

RISK _ WHAT'S YOUR TOLERANCE?

Sometimes you have to go out on a limb, because that’s where the fruit is.

Today a good friend reminded me of these words.  When he credited them to me I was quick to admit stealing them, although I can’t remember from whom.  Never-mind who said them, they are true, and like all truth. . . when embraced . . . they set you free.

I journal.  I began keeping a journal since I was in high school and have always found the process of writing a significant part of my spiritual journey as it forces me to wrest out an appropriate response to the daily events both ordained and allowed in my life.  Two weeks ago I finished a journal, one which I started in March of 2007, and as I put it on it’s shelf I reflected on the over two years worth of life contained between it’s covers.  Wow – what a trip down memory lane that was – a trip that has helped to define my understanding of the person of God more than any other period in my life.

You could say my trip down memory lane was highlighted by the risks I’d taken over the last two years, their consequences in my life and the lives of those around me.   I have always been a bit of a risk taker – riding my bike off a bridge in elementary school (and breaking bones), dunking a basketball off a table in middle school (and breaking bones), falling asleep at the wheel after an all-nighter in high school and hitting a semi (believe it or not – no broken bones).  I’ve taken stupid risks and bold risks.  Risks of love like marriage, parenting, and forgiveness and risks of lust like overeating, overworking, and overindulgence. 

If you are a follower of Christ, you have been called to a life of risk – obviously not stupid risks or sinful risks – but definitely to unsafe risks.  Risks that require faith over fear, dependence over confidence, and surrender verses sufficiency.  Our calling is one of God sized dreams and the failures that accompany the pursuit of anything bigger than our own abilities.  If we want to live safe and secure lives, raise good families, and die financially independent, the road is clear – but if we want to live an adventure with God, launch our children as passionate and dangerous world changers, and die with a journal worthy of being read – it will involve risk.

Peter got out of the boat, David charged the Giant, and Moses parted the sea. 

Peter also sank, David also cheated, and Moses also murdered.

But they’re lives are worthy of reading - why – because they took the risk to follow a God whose calling on their lives was bigger than they could attain on their own.

So as I have begin my new journal with it’s over 500 fresh blank pages, I have surrendered to more risk in my life, more dreams that only God can fulfill, and the full on embrace of the failures and brokenness that will come.

If you want to sit around on your blessed assurance and judge my risk taking – bring it – I can own my junk and God can own everything else.  If you want to get out of the boat, charge the giant, or part the sea.  Surrender, and let’s go for it together – after all -

Sometimes you have to go out on a limb, because that’s where the fruit is.

Josh