devotions, but we took the Shema to
heart:
These commandments that I give
you today are to be on your hearts.
Impress them on your children. Talk
about them when you sit at home and
when you walk along the road, when
you lie down and when you get up.
Deuteronomy 6: 6, 7 (NIV)
We talked to our kids about life and
decisions and friends and dating in
the moments that were right in front
of us. In the car, in the bathroom, while
shooting free throws on the driveway.
We talked about the power of prayer
and acknowledged the way God was
answering those prayers.
We’ve come to grips with the fact that
we’re unique and we don’t try to copy
26 • Solutions
anyone else because we wouldn’t do
it right anyway. We made mistakes
with our kids, but then we apologized.
We talked about ministry in our home
and tried to let it be what it is. Hard.
Messy. Incredibly rewarding. And in
spite of, and maybe a little because of,
our parenting our kids turned out to be
fiercely committed to Jesus and his
church.
LOOKING BACK
Now as grandparents looking back we
have the advantage of perspective.
When your baby needs his diaper
changed, your four-year-old is laying
on the floor screaming and you oldest
just used the safety scissors to give the
lead elder’s granddaughter a haircut,
it’s hard to see how you’ll survive, let
alone thrive as a family in ministry. But