Heard some good words the other day, followed by some poignant ones; from the 10-year old boy in the backseat.

 

I’m really glad my dad plays with us. When we get off the school bus, if he’s there, he starts playing with us in the front yard. My friends on the bus say they wish their dads played with them, but they don’t; instead they just stay home all day and drink beer while their moms work.

 

Then later overheard some more words from the same boy.

 

…well, Mama Jan’s not boring.

 

(Really wish I’d caught the first part of that conversation…but I’m guessing that there must be some grownups out there somewhere who are really boring)

 

And then heard some sweet words from the 3-year old girl in the living room:

 

I really love my Day; he comes in my room and plays with me. He’s really not boring.

 

Dads and Days—your kids really are paying attention.

 

 

 

Direct your children onto the right path,

 

and when they are older,

 

they will not leave it.

Proverbs 22:6

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…”If you will be kind to this people, please them,

 

and speak appropriately to them with kind words,

 

they’ll serve you forever.”

2 Chronicles 10:7

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The LORD is like a father to his children,

 

tender and compassionate to those who fear him.

Psalm 103:13

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(Self-shadow photo by Faith Cora)

(* Amanuensis – one who writes from dictation)

 

Faith Cora and I sat in bed with our books and drinks the other morning before the sun came up. I’d tried to be very quiet when I fixed my latte; but her yawning face and little pajama feet had padded into the kitchen soon after I’d begun. She mentioned on our way back to bed that she’d drink coffee too when she got older, but right now she just wanted her water cup.

 

Her book choices, scattered on the floor by the bed, were “Firebird”, “Bird Songs From Around the World”, “Violet the Pilot”, and “Lucado Treasury of Bedtime Prayers”; mine was my NLT study bible.

 

As we sipped our drinks, I suggested we read “Firebird”; but she quickly vetoed that and said, “No, I want to read my prayer book” and scrambled down off the bed to get it.

 

So first we read from her book:

 

Good Morning, God.

 

Lord, every morning you hear my voice.

 

Every morning, I tell you what I need.

 

And I wait for your answer.

Psalm 5:3

 

Then we read, “If God had a refrigerator, your picture would be on it…He sends you flowers every spring and a sunrise every morning.”

 

And then we read from my book:

 

Look up into the heavens.

 

Who created all the stars?

 

He brings them out like an army, one after another,

 

Calling each by its name.

 

Because of his great power and incomparable strength,

 

Not a single one is missing.

Isaiah 40:26

 

The sky was still dark so I suggested we go outside and see if we could find any of those stars God had created. We wrapped up in our snuggle-blanket and stepped out on the porch; I wasn’t a bit surprised when God took less than twenty seconds to send a north-directed shooting star blazing across the western sky.

 

The morning air was cold so we soon headed back inside to our warm blankets; and then talked about my verse one more time—zeroing in on the fact that God named each one of his stars.

 

After his original fireworks, we’d also seen a huge very bright star in the western sky. Some people might call it Venus, but Faith told me that she knew its name was Twinkle-twinkle little star;  I’m pretty sure God smiled at her confidence in him when she called the name of his star.