A Perfect Morning

A somewhat dreary day, the kids all slept in, which gave me adequate time to get the Cinnamon Cake baked (we call it Cinnamon Cake rather than Coffee Cake because, really, who wouldn't prefer a cake made of cinnamon over a cake made of coffee??). The kids hadn't forgotten the promised breakfast outside and, still rubbing "eye boogers" out of their eyes, they were excited.

We enjoyed a delicious breakfast and then followed it up with a little Bible study. I have considered various Bible curricula for them but just haven't found the right one. Then it occurred to me that all three of the kids bring home the perfect Bible curriculum for their age from Sunday School each week. It's just a small piece of paper that summarizes the lesson they learned for the particular week. Then it includes daily Bible readings and questions to consider, questions that are great conversation starters for deeper talks. I really want to strive to have open communication with the kids. I grew up at a missionary boarding school, which presented a very legalistic environment. There were few, if any, adults I really TALKED to...ever. We respected adults out of fear rather than real respect because generally speaking we felt the adults were "out to get us." We felt they were always on the prowl seeking to fill their quota of rule breakers. I don't want that with my kids at all, yet it's a difficult cycle to break.

And, while I could write pages on legalism and the lessons I've learned just recently about God's grace, I digress as usual...

After our Bible study we picked up a newspaper. I thought I'd try a little experiment this morning just to test their attention spans. I want the kids to grow up aware of the rest of the world out there, and so I thought I would begin reading a bit of news--censored and screened, of course. We chose a front page story about Ruth Graham's death. And they all three paid attention and wanted to see pictures! Alex's interest was especially held. She wants to be "one of those shoebox people" when she grows up (Operation Christmas Child, that is, not Payless!), so she was excited to hear more about Franklin Graham's family, even under the sad circumstances.

Enjoying a cool morning and provocative conversations with the kids was a perfect way to begin a day. Will it become a daily happening? Well, they don't ordinarily all wake up at the same time like they did today, but it is certainly something we'll repeat when we can!