Random Thoughts

Sorry it's been a while since I've posted something other than Pastor Gary's articles, though some have provoked some interesting discussions. I have not been very motivated to post anything, to be honest. Thank you Pastor for your contributions. It is less work for me.

I have been busy with the end of the school year. It looks like I'll be teaching 3rd grade next year, so that should be fun and a new challenge. Part of the challenge will be to get ready for the new year with little prep time during the summer due to my jury service. I am excited about the opportunity, but it is a big time commitment and I would much rather spend time with my family, but it could be worse.

Baby Bright is doing well. She is 2 months old already!! Wow...To sound completely cliche, it has gone by very quickly. It is nice to take some time each day to spend time with her and more importantly, my Beloved wife.

My dad's dad died this morning. One of my grandfathers. It has been about 10 years since I had seen him, so I can't say I was close. My dad's having a tough time; he also lost his sister just a few months ago. :-( Please keep him and my grandfather's immediate family in prayer.

Being a dad has been an interesting proposition. It has been tough. (My wife is an incredible mother, BTW) It has been fun. In some ways it has been an experiment of sorts. We had gone through a "series" called Growing up Kids God's Way by Gary Ezzo. A big focus of the first part is to train your children to have healthy sleep habits, with the idea that by about 8 weeks your child could be sleeping through the night.

Well, Baby Bright is not sleeping through the night, but she is averaging 5 1/2 to 7 hours each night, which is great. (Though my Beloved would be quick to remind me I don't get up :-) ) The funny thing is people say we are so lucky. I don't think it is luck since we have been purposeful about training her to have healthy sleep patterns. We wanted to teach this, in part, because of a family member getting very little sleep (day or night) the first 4-5 months of her child's life and we wanted something different for us. Thus our Growing Kid's...plan.

I know there are some things we will just fall into as parents; but we want to be purposeful about many of the things we teach Baby Bright. Spiritually, socially, emotionally, etc...Especially spiritually, since those things are of an eternal importance. My child's eternal destination hangs in the balance. Those things cannot be left up to chance.

With such a great responsibility, I feel somewhat inadequate. And, without the strength of Christ and my Beloved, it would be a greater difficulty. But I am confident that God will help us use the tools He has given us to do the best job we can. I do not want to just skate by and hope for the best. I want to know I have done the best I can and trust in God's grace to help my child choose to live a godly life in an ever-increasing secular world.

May God give us the grace we need for this task.

Thanks for listening to my my random thoughts. Sorry for their disconnectness. :-)