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This has been an interesting and encouraging 48 hours of parenting.  I’ve had two completely separate experiences with Noah and Jonathan that were both answers to prayers.  I’m not writing this to boast that it looks like my kids are responding to situations like a Christian should.  I’m writing it, because I know that many of you are involved in my boys’ lives and are praying for them.  This week has been such an encouragement to me and I want it to be the same for you.

Noah:

One of the mornings this week I came out of the shower to Noah telling me,

“Dad, I want to obey God.”

I said, “Great! what made you think that you want to do that?”

He replied with, “Well, I already told Jonathan and momma.”

I was like, well then that makes perfect sense.  I later asked him why he wanted to obey God and he told me, “you obey God and mommy too, so I want to obey God.”  I tried to assure him that we try to obey God and are excited that he wants to as well.

Jenna told me that night that there were a couple of times throughout the day that Eden acted like a 2 year old and he told her, “Eden doesn’t want to obey God.”

I was encouraged by this conversation, but I didn’t get the vibe that he was really soaking it in until I corrected him that night for fighting with Jonathan over a magazine.  I took him aside and asked him what fighting over the magazine with Jonathan was telling me.  He answered, “That I don’t want to obey God.”  I told him that was right.  I can’t remember what I asked him next, but his answer wasn’t a direct response to the question, it was more of what was going on in his head.  He told me, “I was being selfish.”  We talked through how that occurred and why that’s dishonoring to God.  I was very encouraged by his understanding of his specific sin and his ability to to think out of the box of my questions.  I pray that I’m as knowledgeable of my own sin.

Jonathan:

There have been some incredibly heavy conversations happening in our house the last several weeks.  Jenna and I try to have them in ‘parent code’ or when the kids aren’t in the room, but Jonathan is, as every 8 year old, a master at the parental eavesdrop.  Jenna and I decided that I’d take him out to Starbucks and just talk to him in detail about everything.  We decided it was better for him to hear what was going on directly.  Without going into detail of the specifics of the conversation, we talked a lot about a couple of situations that have arisen that Jenna and I are discussing how we can be the most Christ-like in our responses.  Jonathan and I looked at a passage of Scripture together that tells us how we are to act in these situations (I’m not kidding, this was not a preaching time, but a time of study with my 8 year old).  He did a great job of taking what the Scriptures say, and drawing conclusions and responses.  One of the best tells to me about the evening was his attitude later.  It was a sober conversation and he understood that.  He asked good questions, but he knew the mood of the conversation and responded correctly (something I almost never do).

I can’t tell you how much fun it is to work through these things with your children.  I am so happy that God has been gracious to Jenna and I that we can even experience this aspect of the parenting process.  He is truly the source of these joys.