Pinewood Derby

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all your might…
Ecclesiastes 9:10

For the past couple of weeks Matthew, our 7 year old, and I have been working on a pinewood derby car for a big race this weekend. We finally have the finished product: a bold gold race car, with blue metallic accessories, and lots and lots of decals. We had a blast planning and creating this work of art but it wasn’t without its challenges. We had to contend with dad’s lack of skill in the wood shop, a 7 year olds attention span, and countless trips back to the hobby shop to pick up things we forget (or broke) along the way. So with the fun of making a memory with my son, came some challenges along the way.

What did I learn? I’m glad you asked…

• Take extra time. You can’t rush memories. You can’t microwave real life. Some things with our families take time. Don’t rush. Pray for patience, relax, and enjoy the experience. Our families will produce a lifetime of memories. The question is will they be good ones or bad?
  
• Enjoy the challenges. Anything worth doing in life comes with challenges. Expect them, analyze them, pray about them, and with God’s help solve them.
  
• Learn about your child. I learned Matthew loves to play. Whether it was with the piles of saw dust, the spray paint, or playing tag or hide-n-seek while waiting for paint or glue to dry, my time playing with Matthew was just as important as the task at hand.

(I’m looking forward to sharing where we are and where we’re headed as a church family on Vision Weekend next Saturday and Sunday!)

Back To School

For many of our children the new school year began this week. I believe the first day of school should be a national holiday for all parents since they look forward to this day all summer long. ;-) But even beyond the rejoicing of parents everywhere it is an exciting time of year.

You get ready for school by going out and getting new supplies, new clothes, and new shoes. The kids are excited about seeing their friends they’ve missed over the summer. There is something special about going into a new grade and learning new things. There really is something wonderful about going back to school.

As adults we don’t always get that “wonder” this time of year. Other than getting into our Fall routine not much changes for us. Our lives pretty much stay the same while we watch our children grow and learn. What if, like our children, we went back to “school” this Fall? What if saw this Fall as a season of learning and growing?

The phrase “teach me” is found 16 times in the book of Psalms. (You can look up all of these references at www.biblegateway.com.) Proverbs 9:10 (NLT) says, “Fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom. Knowledge of the Holy One results in understanding.” There is so much for us to learn about God from God. He desires us to know Him more. I believe the better we know God the better our lives will be. Let’s be like the psalm writer and invite God to teach us.
Just as we plan and prepare for our kids to go back to school, let’s plan and prepare our time of learning. Let’s set the schedule and get into the routine of learning this Fall. As we move into September there will be a wide variety of learning opportunities at Christian Life, especially on Wednesdays and Sundays. Make a commitment now for you and your family to learn and grow in God this Fall.