Kidologist.com: Karl Bastian’s Personal Site and Blog
Archive for Devotional
March 11, 2010 at 12:53 pm · Filed under Christianity, Devotional, Spiritual Growth
I’m doing the final editing for the next DiscipleTown unit, “How to Make Good Choices” due out March 15th. Hard to believe I’ve written six of these! (and that I have 18 more to go!) I always marvel how each and every unit convicts me and how each unit seems to be exactly what I needed to review in my own walk with God and how much I enjoy developing a four week spiritual journey for children to explore as so that they can grow closer to Jesus and become better disciples.
Let me share one of my favorite elements from lesson three, it is a routine I use with my puppet, Gus. Of course, in the curriculum Gus’ name gets dropped (Sorry Gus!) so that teacher’s can replace him with their own puppet, I remember this routine fondly for both the humor and yet the poignant impact this routine has made many times on children. It’s a description, not a script, but you’ll get the idea:
Puppet has a black eye, a broken arm, and bandages all over his body. Leader asks what is wrong and says, “I hope you didn’t try to fight sin to the death like you were talking about last week!” Puppet says, “Oh, no. I did this all by myself.” Leader looks shocked, “You did this yourself? Were you in some kind of terrible accident?” Puppet says, “Oh, no. It wasn’t an accident. I did it on purpose.” Leader is even more shocked, “On purpose!? You did this on purpose? But why on earth would you do this on purpose?” Puppet looks sad and solemn. “Because I’m such a bad puppet. I needed to be punished.” Leader looks very concerned, “Punished? Punished for what?” Puppet continues, “Oh, I’m too embarrassed to tell you. But you said last week to turn to God and I’d stop sinning. Well, it didn’t work. I sinned again. And since I know better than to try and fight sin, I decided to beat myself up instead. I wanted to teach myself a lesson. God can’t have bad people on His team, you know. I’ve got to knock some sense into myself—beat myself into submission, you know. I tried to knock myself into the middle of next week. What is today’s date, by the way?” Leader is shocked and sad. “Oh, Puppet, you don’t need to beat yourself up. God will forgive you.” Puppet looks up, “Oh, I know He did, but not again and again.” Leader says, “Yes, again and again, and then again and again and again and again.” Puppet asks, “And then … again and again?” Leader smiles, “And then again and again.” Puppet says, “And then again?” Leader says, “And then again.” Puppet asks, “How many agains?” Leader says, “Until you’ve lost track.” Puppet says, “I already have.” Leader: “Then you still have more agains left over.” Puppet, looking more cheerful: “That’s a lot of agains!” Leader smiles: “As many as you need—that’s how much He loves you.”
Jesus sure has given me a lot of “agains” and I know I have a tendency to beat myself up to. I recently was with a good friend and brought up a sin I had committed in the past and this godly leader cut me off, looked me in the eye and said, “Do you believe in the cross?” I said “Of course,” and this person said, “then don’t ever mention your sin to me again. Just keep moving forward and serving the Lord.” Wow. That’s far as the East is from the West! We need more Christians like that, don’t we? We teach this stuff to our children, but sometimes its so hard to live and believe it for ourselves!
What are you beating yourself up for? What do you keep reminding yourself of?
Jesus has as many “agains” as we have sins. Need another “again?” He’s got one for ya!
February 11, 2010 at 9:40 am · Filed under Devotional, Spiritual Growth, Yosemite
Before I continue my series of posts on my solo sabbatical in Yosemite, I want to follow up on my last post, Giving Up on Knowing God. I think I freaked a few people out by some of the private e-mails I got of concerned people who thought I was denying my faith! I let it hang there for awhile because I put a challenge in there for anyone who knew God to e-mail me and tell me what that looked like. I was seriously hoping someone would. Well, last night while at Chipotle with my son, I got the e-mail from a guy named Kirk saying bluntly “I know God!”, and it made my day. Reprinted with the writer’s permission, here it is:
I know God! Like you, I started by knowing about Him, and then gradually getting to know Him more and more.
Finally, I set my mind to get to know Him “personally.” This itself was the light bulb moment – it was when I DECIDED that I was going to relentlessly pursue this. And then I found Him, just as He promises us.
He’s there in the stories of the bible … the things that make Him smile, the things that really piss Him off, and the things in between. Some things He doesn’t like, but He tolerates … other things make Him so happy He brags about us!
It’s all there in the pages of the bible. I can show you how. It’s the coolest thing ever, because He is SO real. And when He becomes that real, one can write something like the 23rd Psalm (written by another man who knew Him)… or pray prayers like John 17, etc.
[Have you ever imagined what it would feel like to BE David - to be ABLE to write the 23rd Psalm, and have it be true?]
Email me if you want, and we can “talk.”
You’ll love it.
Anyway, please take me up on my offer to show you how to get to KNOW Yahweh.
He wants you to – He really does.
It took a lot of courage for Kirk to write this e-mail. He didn’t know me, he had come to my blog for the first time after someone recommended he look into my ministry as a way to sell a resource he is developing – imagine his surprise when this post was his first introduction to me! Here was my response to him:
Kirk,
Thank you so much for your note. You made my day! I was so much hoping someone would have the courage to respond to my challenge and e-mail me because I DO indeed believe we can know God, Scripture makes that abundantly clear from cover to cover!! And I do know God, as you describe. I was just so humbled as I always am by my smallness when I am in Yosemite and surrounded by the BIGNESS and GREATNESS of God, it is just so humbling and I think we need to never be too flippant or trite about what it means to know God, but yes, that is the Amazing Offer that God extends to know Him, it is the beautiful offer of salvation. I just think we throw that offer around to loosely at times… it is an AWESOME thing to say, “You can know God.” To stick that on a bumper sticker is almost… I don’t know how to say it… is our God not Big enough? Have we made him a size we can handle? I think if we truly understood Him, would we ever sin?
Anyway, I do believe we can know God, Scripture is quite clear on it, and I planned to follow up on my blog:
On one hand God knows us….
1 Corinthians 8:3
But the man who loves God is known by God.
But scripture also talks of us knowing God… (in addition to showing it as you described!)
Galatians 4:8
Formerly, when you did not know God….
Galatians 4:9
But now that you know God—or rather are known by God…
Ephesians 1:17
I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better.
1 John 4:6
We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us…
1 John 4:7
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.
I was so curious to see if anyone would have the boldness to take me up on my challenge and email me and say “I know God!” THANK YOU for doing so! I really thought I’d be challenged more for that post! If no one did, I was really going to be disappointed. Perhaps more struggle with not feeling like they know God. I’m sure it is a struggle, because we do all fall short and feel that gap between where we are and where we want to be!
May I share your email on my blog, with only your first name? And I’d be happy to “talk” more with you – as I have plenty of room to grow and would appreciate any insight you have to share on how I can know God better.
karl
Then he replied:
Whew! I’m so relieved to get this response … I was a bit concerned about being so bold. But then it also occurs to me that’s a shame, too, isn’t it? Isn’t it a shame that we should consider it bold to proclaim that we know our own Father? Wow. Man, I love talking about God, thinking about God, fearing Him and loving Him. HE is everything. Two lines in your note below say SO MUCH (I’m tempted to write a book or two in response, but I won’t because you obviously already “get it”): “Have we made him a size we can handle? I think if we truly understood Him, would we ever sin?” I’m afraid we’re all guilty of making God in our image … sad. (….)
Kirk
I’ve since been enjoying some good conversation with Kirk that I’m sure will continue! In the end, I still stand by my original post – I’m not “taking it back,” the more we get to understand God the smaller we ought to see ourselves, and the greater God becomes and the more impossible it seems that we could ever “know God” my conclusions in that post stand – and YET at the same time, all the more amazing and incredible it is that THIS SAME GOD WANTS US TO KNOW HIM! And invites us to do so despite our sinfulness.
Feast on that!
October 4, 2009 at 9:00 am · Filed under Devotional, Spiritual Growth
If you follow my blog or facebook or twitter (especially recently) it is no secret that I love the mountains! It is one of the reasons I moved to Colorado. But I was reminded by my mentor Oswald Chambers that it is how we live in the valleys that truly matters. Let me encourage you with his words:
The height of the mountaintop is measured by the dismal drudgery of the valley, but it is in the valley that we have to live for the glory of God. We see His glory on the mountain, but we never live for His glory there. It is in the place of humiliation that we find our true worth to God – that is where our faithfulness is revealed. Most of us can do things if we are always at some heroic level of intensity, simply because of the natural selfishness of our own hearts. But God wants us to be at the drab everyday relationship with Him…… when you were on the mountaintop you could believe anything, but what about when you were faced with the facts of valley?
I love going to the mountains, but I know I must live in the valleys. And I’ve been in some pretty deep valleys too. Some were just the natural valleys of life – others I dug myself! But I love having a view of the mountains now as a constant reminder that there is HOPE that I do not need to stay in the valley that there is a God who not only is in the valley with me, but who invites me OUT, and to go to the heights with Him!
You may not have a “mountain view” – just as I lived without the past twenty-three years, but all along, I knew they existed and it made valley dwelling easier. In life, there are valleys, but just knowing that our God is High and Exalted is enough to sustain us in the valleys. So look to the mountains for Hope, but live in the valleys honoring Him no matter what, for that is where your character shows and therefore where it really matters. Praise Him!
October 2, 2009 at 11:54 am · Filed under Adventures, Devotional, Life, PK Cruiser
Yesterday I spent most of the day at the Garden of the God. (I leave the ’s’ off on purpose!)
I went to see the sunrise and to work in my new office: Colorado!
This was my view for my morning staff conference call. Not too shabby! It was a little chilly, so I eventually moved to the Visitor Center across the street where I had a counter, power outlet, free refills and an elevated view:
Next I headed off to Chipotle for lunch and on my way back I noticed a Navigator’s sign right before the turn to Garden of the Gods, and turned in. Soon I was at a Castle Gate being stopped by a Gate Keeper. I wasn’t sure if I would get in, but after speaking a little “Christianese” I was granted a pass and allowed to proceed into the most amazing compound that rivaled the Garden of the Gods next door! Turns out the Gen Eyrie retreat center may be one of the best kept secrets of Christiandome! Not only are there more red rocks….
and over 700 acres with lodges and hiking trails…
there is even a Castle!
But on to the CAVE!
As I was exploring, I noticed a CAVE up on one of the cliffs!
Now, GUYS, why is it when you SEE A CAVE you have this thought… I must go up in that cave! I’m sorry, but I REALLY TRIED not to. I seriously thought, I could get hurt. It might be too much for my heart. There could be a bear or a cougar or something worse! No one who loves me even knows I am here at Glen Eyrie, how long until my car would be found? I signed a release to hike, so they wouldn’t even cover any medical costs if I got hurt. Would my insurance…
but the CAVE WAS CALLING TO ME… so I climbed!
I got closer! I half expected some fierce animal to peek out at me! Would I run? Or would freezing work? What if I found treasure? Bones? I’m sure no one else has ever climbed up here!
Finally, I made it! Here is the view from INSIDE THE CAVE! And there is the PK Cruiser, to prove it is really the same cave! It was about twenty feet deep. No wild animals or bones or treasure. I was actually a little disappointed. (About the treasure and bones that is.)
I put on the fisheye lens to try and show the entire cave from the back!
Just as I was about to head down I was surprised by a great view of the Glen Eyrie Castle from the opening of the cave! Pretty cool, huh? You know, if you don’t get out of your car in life, you miss out on some of the best experiences.
The next time you are driving in life and you see something cool – don’t drive by. STOP, and just do it! I’m way behind on email and a bunch of stuff from moving last week, and I know just as I get caught up when I’m moving in next week, I’ll get behind all over again. I have every reason to work all day and into the night non-stop.
But then, I would have missed out on this neat cave!
WHAT IS CALLING OUT TO YOU TODAY? GO FOR IT!
September 28, 2009 at 10:00 pm · Filed under Devotional, Life, Luke, Parenting
On our two day drive from Chicagoland to Colorado, I anticipated at some point our three year old would have a melt down from being strapped in a car seat for hours on end! And while frequent Rest Stops helped pace the trip, I knew sooner or later, the tears would come. So like any wise parent, I was prepared! I had purchased a huge semi-truck toy and stashed in in the back of the mini-van so when the revolt came, I could reward him for being so good and give him a toy to enjoy for the last leg of the trip.
Well, it finally happened. At our last lunch stop, we were looking at toy trucks at a truck stop and when we said it was time to get back in the car the melt down started, but I was able to kneel down, hug my son, and say, “Luke, you’ve been so good. Please don’t cry. I’m so proud of you and how you’ve done these past two days on our trip. Guess what? I have a surprise for you in the car – a truck! If you can stop crying and make it for one more stretch of driving I’ll give you a cool semi-truck in the car.” It was so precious to watch him whip his tears and follow me to the car and when he saw it to light up and say, “Wow! It’s sooo cool!” And we hit the road again. Soon, as facebook friends saw, he was asleep with his new truck/friend.
In an effort to help his nice cars and trucks last a little longer, I had explained to him that it was an expensive truck and to be very careful with it so that it would not break. Well, when we got to Colorado we were welcomed by some relatives and all went out to dinner. At dinner, while playing, the truck took a nose dive off the table and everyone heard the crash and turned to see what happened. Luke’s response was so cute, and also so representative of our human response when we mess up.
Without even looking to see how the truck was, he immediately ran to me and started hugging me and laying on the love, telling me, “Daddy, I looooove you! You are the best daddy!” and kissing me. Of course, it was very sweet and cute, and yet at the same time, we knew, this sudden expression of love was most likely motivated not by a desire to express love, but by an immediate desire to squelch my anticipated displeasure that the new truck had crashed off the table. However, I accepted his affection and simply asked him to go get the truck, so we could see how it was. Sure enough, one of the tall exhaust pipes had broken off – something easily glued later on. I told him it was O.K., and I knew it was an accident, and I wasn’t upset, but he could be a little more careful. While it isn’t my pattern to get angry or react quickly or get upset in situations like this, I did find it very interesting that he understood right away that I had given him this gift out of love, and he had broken it, and immediately – INSTANTLY, when he thought he had broken it, his response was to express love to me. Perhaps it was defensive love, to soften me up and avoid getting in trouble. Or, perhaps it was perfectly sincere, because he felt badly that my loving gift had been hurt, and so he instantly responded by giving his own gift of love. I could argue it either way.
Ultimately, its irrelevant. Either way, the point is, that when he broke the gift, he turned to his father and tried to make it right by expressing love and his father cared more for his son than for the object and accepted the love and immediately returned love. The ‘thing’ was less important than the relationship.
Why am I blogging about this little incident? Because every day we fail our Heavenly Father. We break, misuse, and break His gifts. And how do we respond toward our Heavenly Father? Our INSTINCT ought to be the same as my little boy! Turn to our Father and simply express love. Whether it is a little defensive to try and and stave off his anger, or whether it is simply to acknowledge we carelessly damaged what He gave us – either way, He will accept us and return our love. For He cares less about the things and objects of our lives and more about His relationship with us, and whether we are willing to embrace Him and say we are sorry.
Have you told your Heavenly Father you love Him today? And that you are sorry for breaking the truck He gave you?
September 26, 2009 at 8:22 pm · Filed under Devotional, Luke, Spiritual Growth
Luke Loves Rest Stops!
As we are driving across the country on our move from Chicago to Colorado we stop at almost every Rest Stop. Not only for the obvious reasons, but also to give our three year old a break from the car seat to run around a bit and play. We run, laugh and play. And while there is a part of me (that logical, practical, productive part I struggle to turn off) that can feel like we are wasting time and losing progress on our journey and delaying our ‘goal’ – the part of me I’m learning to listen to realizes that “getting there” is not always the goal. The quality of the journey is equally important, if not MORE so.
So the Rest Stops are not delays, they are enhancements – bonuses – perks! They are, in fact, the highlights of an otherwise boring trip. When our son begs to stay at a Rest Stop, that tells you something!
Time for Excersize!
We’ve all got goals and objectives in our lives and ministries, but in our eagerness to accomplish them, don’t blow past the Rest Stops. You need them! And not just for the obvious reasons, (prayer and Bible reading), you need regular breaks for other reasons too, just to enjoy life, to rest, play, laugh, learn, listen, read, whatever you enjoy!
And hear me: you don’t need Rest Stops when you ‘have time’ for them, it is when you DON’T have time for them that you need them the most! Just like a Rest Stop on the highway, they don’t have to be long. They can be a short nap, a walk, something entertaining for a good laugh, a phone call to a friend, a trip to Starbucks for a frapathingie or McD’s for a large Coke. You know what it is for you, it’s probably coming to mind right now. An excuse probably is too, why you can’t do do that. Zap that.There is no excuse. Be the boss of your brain. Be the driver of your life, not the stuff on the desk or in your in-box!
Hey, Rest Stop ahead in 2 miles, and you CAN stop!
Playing Samson with Daddy
I have a friend who travels a lot by car and I asked his secret to long drives and he said he has a rule, “Drive 50 minutes, stop 10, no matter what.”
Resting in the Leaves
I think that’s good advice in life and ministry too. Well, we are about to stop at another another Rest Stop, so I’d better stop blogging!
We’ll be arriving in Colorado tonight!
Looking Up to Daddy
On Top of the World with my Boy
August 6, 2009 at 11:12 pm · Filed under Devotional, Life, Photography, Random Observations
There is just something amazing about these images of water captured with a high speed camera…
Every time I come across them, I star at them…
and study every detail…
every ripple and splash…
every color and reflection…
knowing that if not for the camera’s super fast shutter…
I could never enjoy this captured moment…
stolen out of time for me…
to hold in my hand… or in my mind…
a moment… forever…
how sweet it is!
an accident? hardly!
a planned disaster, actually!
a beautiful mess.
an explosion of motion and energy…
caught in the motion of the moment…
the camera catches what we miss every day.
MAKES ME WONDER… what do we miss? What could we capture with the camera of our eye, if we would just focus throughout the day? A sweet smile? A gorgeous cloud? A curious animal? An enlightened moment? An encouraged person?
What are the moments of our day that God creates that we miss? The splashes of his Grace? The colorful moments that He gives us? The green lights when we are in a hurry? The short line at the store? The empty parking spot near the door in a busy parking lot? The familiar face in a crowd that calls your name? An unsolicited “I love you” from your child? Whatever they are, don’t miss them today. Capture them in your in your minds’ eye, and cherish them.
(did you scrool too fast? look at the pictures again! did you drive too fast? walk too fast today? slow down already!)
April 23, 2009 at 10:47 pm · Filed under Devotional, Family, Life, Luke, Parenting, Photography
What is my favorite subject? Is it math? science? English? recess?! Nope – it’s not a school subject at all, its a photography subject: my little boy.
Daddy and the Boy
Today we headed over to Garden of the God (note: I leave off the “s” as it is not Garden of the Gods, but of the One True God and Creator whom I worship!) While Luke’s favorite thing was the toy cars for sale at the Trading Post, my favorite was getting to take pictures of him at this beautiful place! (not my first time here!) And it should be noted, that if I’m in the picture, Sara took the shot, and she’s not a bad photographer herself! (She’s a great photographer!)
“Look Dad, a ROCK!”
I love Luke’s curiosity and enthusiasm over the littlest things. Often I had to call him on to see greater things when he was content with a little stone or stick. I wonder if my heavenly Father ever is trying to lead me to more amazing things and if I get content with lesser things and nearly miss the greater?
Luke in his “special place”
Luke loves finding little places he can crawl into and feel like it is his own “special place.” Many times, even just at home, he finds the greatest pleasure out of the simplest things. What a lesson to us who sometimes place the bar so high in order to be moved or excited that we miss the joy that can be found in the little things and little places that are all around us.
He just can’t help it.
Of course, I think my son is adorable. But I especially enjoy it when others walking by stop to compliment my wife and I on our cute little boy. The power of encouraging words. A reminder to not always be focused on our own enjoyment, but to make the effort to encourage others along the path, even in little ways – it can mean a lot!
Between a Rock and Cute Place
As I look at this massive rocks and wonder about the ways they were slowly formed over time I can’t help also thinking about the ways my little boy is being slowly formed over time. I’m not the only influence, and my influence will slowly diminish, but everything I do right now is having a major impact on shaping the boy (and the man) he will become. The words I use, the way I react to him and events, the tones I use, the attitudes I model, the instructions I give, but more importantly, the example I give – are shaping him. What a scary honor!
Future Heart Breaker
When you look at my son, you see a cute boy. When I look at the same picture I see so much more… because I know him. I am enjoying his daily developments, his growing sense of humor, his budding interests and talents as well as his sin nature I am working to correct from the heart rather than merely by seeking to change behavior. I see the boy inside and love him more than I could ever describe. A cute kid to you is a part of my life and very reason for living. I wonder how my heavenly Father looks at a picture of me? You see me – but God sees ME.
“I’m Stuck!”
He didn’t get stuck, but he surprised me with his courage! There was a crack through this giant rock about the length of our van, and I asked him to stand in the crack for a picture. The next thing I knew he disappeared deep into the rock to appear out the other side! I worried for a minute that if he got stuck I wouldn’t be able to get in there to help him, though he easily fit through with some careful footwork. I wouldn’t have told him to venture in and out the other side, but his adventurous spirit made this dad proud.
“I see you!”
Here is Luke peeking out of a crack out the side, half way through the crack he explored to my surprise. I love the adventurous exploratory spirit of children. TOO MANY adults lose that zeal to learn and explore and GO where they have never been before. We become too content with our routines and “responsibilities.” When is the last time you blew off “normal life” and explored something or somewhere? If you can’t remember, you are over due!
TOP OF THE WORLD!
I was asked recently how being a dad had changed me. The question surprised me. Not that I couldn’t go on and on talking about it. But it has been one of the greatest experiences of my life. (Getting married is up there pretty high too!) I thought for a moment on how to answer and finally said, “I always thought I loved children more than most people, in fact, I didn’t think it was possible for me to love a child any more than I aleady did. But once I became a dad, I discovered why there is a completely different Greek word for parental love – because it is a deeper, and richer and more powerful love than I had ever experienced before. Something that can never be explained, only experienced.”
Being a dad has changed me to the core in ways I could never articulate. But most of all, I think I understand now what it really means to be a child of God. That understanding deepens and expands every day in ways I never could have anticipated.
Being a dad is one of the single greatest thing in life. I can’t wait until tomorrow!
April 13, 2009 at 8:24 pm · Filed under Devotional, Family, Life, Spiritual Growth
Waking up in a hospital bed on Easter Sunday morning after a life-saving proceedure on your heart does wonders for your perspective on life. While family and some friends are quick (too quick) to jump on my diet or love of Dew, the reality is that while I certainly have to make some minor changes to my diet to eat more “heart healthy” and increase exercise, diet is not at the top of my list of the things I’m thinking about. I’m not devaluing the importance of these changes, I’ll make them, many I already was over the past few years, but facing one’s mortality so dramatically impacted me more in thinking about relationships, not food.
Months away from turning forty, I suppose everyone at some point truly faces their mortality, and the deep realization that truly every day is a gift from God. Perhaps they go through something like I did, or someone they love does, or it may just be a significant birthday number that hits them; “I’m getting old!”
While I’ve always known and believed that every day was a gift from God – when the events of the last 48 hours are such that TODAY is truly a gift, you know it to a deeper level than you could before. Questions like – Who am I? Why am I here? What is my purpose? What truly matters? How then shall I live? – suddenly take on a new and deeply significant meaning. I’ve always been very mission driven in life and Kingdom focused in my work (at times to a fault) but this event has really caused me to think differently about relationships, or at least think the same things with a clarity and focus I never imagined possible before. Has this episode changed me? Of course. Facing death in the middle of an otherwise normal and fun day – brings everything into crystal clear focus. If I could sum it up in one phrase, I’d say:
Suddenly, selfishness now seems so…. selfish.
I now want even more so to live each day – not to do, not to accomplish, not to gain, not to accumulate, not even to impact or serve – but simply to love. To love God, to love my wife, to love my son, and to love my family and friends like I may have intended before, but to a degree I never did before. I want to be more of an others-centric person. I want to go to bed every night knowing that if today had been my last, I had truly loved and lived that day, and that nothing left behind or left undone truly mattered.
So, yeah. I’ll drink less Dew, but there are things so much more significant in life than merely the acceptance that I now need to eat and exercise better. My “new” diet is simply what everyone should be eating anyway, as is my “new” exercise requirements. All that is “new” is being extremely convinced of their importance and the motivation to do them more intentionally!
If all I gained from this experience was a healthier or even longer life, than I missed the point. Long life is not the goal. A life truly lived is! Please DO NOT let my story merely encourage you to be healthier. Please. Instead, may it spur you on to live a life of love! To God, to your family, and to anyone God brings into your life!
If you and I both will do that, than my near death experience will truly have value!
Related:
Surgeon Sees Jesus in my Heart!
Update from the Hospital Bed
April 1, 2009 at 1:41 pm · Filed under Devotional, Kidology, Luke, Parenting, Spiritual Growth
My 3-year-old has entered a fun, new stage in life. In the past, any time I would ask him a question starting with, “Do you know…,” he would answer “yes,” even if he didn’t. Last week, I encouraged him to answer, “No, tell me,” if he in fact didn’t know an answer.
It has now turned into a game where he has me ask him questions, and loves answering, “No, tell me,” before I launch into explaining to him another aspect of our amazing world. He has discovered that if he asks, I will tell him things he doesn’t already know, and he LOVES learning new things. Plus, with this new openness to learning, I’m teaching him about things I otherwise probably wouldn’t have yet.
It got me thinking about my relationship with my Father. How often do I go through the day acting like I know everything, or at least, everything I need to know to get through the day. But my Father delights when I admit I have more to learn and ask him, “Tell me more.” There are many things He will show me when He sees that I am open and eager to learn. I may know enough to get through the day, but I want more. I want to learn more about Him, about His world, and about His plan for my life.
Maybe it is time to turn to your heavenly Father, and say, “Tell me more,” because He will!
(excerpt from the Kidology Newsletter 4-1-09. Don’t get this idea-packed newsletter? Subscribe today!)
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