Even before I had children I always made mental notes of things I wanted to teach my children or places I wanted to take them or things I wanted them to experience. Now that I have a toddler, I’m digging up all those mental notes and beginning to mold him into a young, honorable Christian man. Sometimes being a parent, spouse, employee, etc. makes life so busy that we forget to slow down for a minute. Sometimes parents get so occupied with making sure their kid goes to school and plays sports and has play dates and behaves well, that they forget to actually “parent” them. They forget to teach them; that’s what the schools are for after all, right? No. No, they’re not. School did not teach me how to nourish my relationship with God. School didn’t teach me how to be a good wife. School didn’t teach me how to be a good mother. School didn’t teach me how to stand up for my morals or to care for others. My mother (and family) taught me those things. My siblings and I can talk about anything with our mother, even if it’s something she disagrees with or disapproves of. She always asked us about our day and how we were doing. She cared about who we were as people and what was going on with us and how we felt and what we liked and what was “cool” to us at the time. She has always kept that line of communication open and in doing that she gained our upmost respect for her opinion and her thoughts which in turn influenced us to do what was right. She never cut us off while we were trying to explain and force “what’s right” down our throat.
So when life starts to get hectic, I always make sure not to forget to set aside time to nourish my son’s mind and soul and spirit with the love and knowledge my mom gave to me. I want my son to think beyond FCAT and beyond what TV teaches him. I want him to be a strong and wise, yet sensitive young man. I want him to KNOW why he has morals, not just because his mommy and daddy said those things were right and wrong. I want him to KNOW why he loves God, and not just because his mommy and daddy took him to church every Sunday. Even at the tender age of 2 years old, Ricky and I already lay in bed with him at night while tucking him into bed to spend some quality quiet time with him, and as he gets older I anticipate those times to turn from him mostly hugging and snuggling against us while drinking his milk to a Q & A time with questions that will be entirely impossible for us to answer like “Where did God come from?” and “Why do I have a freckle right here?” But I am prepared with questions of my own. Questions to broaden his mind and the way he thinks, questions to make him think past what’s “cool” right now and to think about what “matters”. Questions to broaden his mental horizon. So, in the mean time, while I’m waiting for my lil boy to grow up and beat me to death with “but, why?” questions, I’ve posted a great list of questions I happen to find on www.truewoman.com:
1. What do you think heaven looks like?
2. What does Dad do at work?
3. Who is a person you know that seems the most Christ-like?
4. What do you think your wife (husband) will be like?
5. If you were going to spend one year on a desert island and could only take three things with you, what would they be?
6. Who is your favorite aunt or uncle and why do you like him or her so much?
7. What sounds and smells do you think Joseph and Mary experienced in the stable on Christmas night?
8. What is the nicest thing I ever did for you?
9. When is a time that I hurt your feelings?
10. When is a time that you were really mad at me?
11. What is the most important decision you will ever make?
12. If you could be in a movie that you’ve already seen, which one would it be? Would you be a character that is already in the movie, or would you be one that you would add?
13. How is love different for a Christian couple than it is in the movies?
14. What is the difference between being smart and being wise?
15. What is your favorite outfit?
16. What is the hardest part about being (fill in your child’s age)?
17. What has been your favorite childhood memory?
18. When you pray, how do you picture God?
19. What is your favorite Bible verse? Why do you like it?
20. If you could be an animal for a day, which one would you be?
21. If you could go in a time machine, what era in history would you like to visit?
22. What person in history would you like to visit?
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