Letting Kids be Kids

From Playing Princesses to...

Playing some baseball...

Even the littlest ones can play this way...

Automatic home run when the ball gets lost in the brush...

 When our company was here last week they played many a great ball game.  The bases were generally located at a pile of rocks, one you'll be sure to not slide into, around the fire pit, and a patch of bare clay for third base.  Then on to home which was more like the end zone of a football field but with many dips and bumps.  In the above picture the kids were hunting for the ball that got everyone home.  We were about ready to get the weed eater out when our visiting teenager located it in the crook of a tree branch.

Budding young painters busy at work...

 I am always amazed at how children really do not require loads of toys to occupy their time.  Give them some time and space and let them create.  They do not require perfectly level playing fields and 50 colors to paint with.  They don't all need a bike and the latest in wordly fashions.  They need some raw materials, yes, but don't limit their creativity with to many toys.  Children need you.  They need your gentle guidance and your availability to chat.  They don't need lengthy sermons and formal times of talk.  Do they need to be educated in a government setting or do they need a Mom and a Dad who care about them individually? 

They need your daily input and you need their daily output or vice versa.  Children were created in families.  Families used to have purpose:  to educate and bring up their children in truth.  They weren't created for toy consumers and for independent autonomic decision making.  They need to learn the logic and truth of God's word and practice applying it daily.  Do not leave them by themselves, but encourage them to relate lovingly and with patience.  Give them quiet time, give them good meals, direct them to excellent reading material, include them in your discussions and in your real life.  Let them be kids and play hard and play long but don't be to busy and to far away.  Enjoy life together.  It is rich and abundant and loaded with adventure when following Jesus Christ.  Yes, sorrow comes and goes but not without joy in the morning.  

Don't be surprised when you can't find a quiet place in your home.  It will be full and brimming with good, healthy activity and very little arguing and complaining.  The few times it will be quiet, is when you all settle down for an hour or two of quiet reading in the afternoon and evenings.  You'll suddenly realize that TV went missing weeks ago and in its place you'll begin to form some lasting and real relationships.  Don't count on meals being quiet unless you really have nothing to talk about.  Meals are lively and loud and probably nothing like you've ever experienced until you begin to want to really look at your children and get to know them and how God designed their individual personalities and learn to appreciate their differences.  When you begin to truly love your children you will sacrifice worldly gain for their good.  It is not always easy.  It pays off in eternal dividends.  BUT the choice will always be yours.  So don't complain, it's up to you and what you've done, is what you've got.

Nothing like riding on perma frost heaves on a bicyle built for one...

Friendships are a gift from God!