Kids At The Beach: Germpos & Jesus

Germpos.

They are apparently a small undetectable worm that climbs in you and makes you dirty.

So says 4 year old Jackson.  After leaving the beach the other day, he insisted on a shower the very moment that we got home to eradicate these nefarious "Germpos."

Some might say it was sand.

I tend to believe my little sir that there are indeed a villainous race of tiny worms called Germpos and that their sole purpose is to make us dirty.

Well, I guess you could call that humanity's self-chosen affliction...sinfulness.

Jackson informed us that only he could see the Germpos.  Upon further investigation it was revealed that adults couldn't see them.

Just like the dastardly Germpos, sin is often unseen by other people.  Proverbs 5:21:  "For the ways of a man are before the eyes of the Lord.  And He watches all his paths."

Just like only the eyes of Jackson can see the Germpos, only the eyes of the Lord can see all of our sins.  Thankfully, He is a forgiving God, who corrects us as a father would correct his child and who is not willing that one of us should perish.

Thankfully, He also washes us cleaner than the quick shower that Jackson got upon returning from the trip to the shore.

Got Germpos?  Maybe you need a little Jesus cleanser.

My kids just continually challenge my faith in big and, um, silly, ways.  It always astounds me that the silly things that they say and do that make me smile also challenge my heart to be a better Dad, husband and Christ-follower.

What kind of silly things have your kids said/done that have led to a spiritual lesson for you?  We want to hear from you!  Consider this an open thread and post a comment below!

10 Year Old Noah: Storyteller & Bible Teacher

Noah basks in the sunshine as he harvests for Christ!

Recently, my wife and I took the kids to Lancaster, PA to see the Sight and Sound production of Joseph.  It  was an incredible presentation that the kids really enjoyed.  In preparation for that trip, we asked our 10 year old son Noah to review the story of Joseph for his siblings via a good 252 Basics-style dramatic storytelling.

And he delivered.

First of all, you should know that Noah is quite the ham.  I have no idea where he got that from as his mother and I are incredibly shy people who never seek the limelight.  (In case the Sarcasm Font is malfunctioning that last statement was a joke!)

Noah read over the story in his Bible and began prepping with his mom as to what to say, how to act each part out and what props to use.
When the time came, the family all gathered together in the living room and Noah took the stage...

He donned a multi-colored bathrobe to indicate Joseph's coat of many colors and he spoke about the dreams that Joseph had that indicated his brothers would bow down to him one day.  He even allowed his mom to beat him up.  (She helped him illustrate Joseph's beating at the hands of his brothers!)

He prepared note cards with key points to cover.

He even used a can of Spaghetti-Os and a banana to indicate the years of plenty and the food that they would need to stockpile to prepare for the 7 lean famine cows that were coming down the calendar.

He was funny, engaging and thoroughly prepared.

And through the silly faces and acting he engaged his sister and brother in the story of Joseph and the incredible testimony to clinging to God's faithfulness even when life circumstances don't really seem like a Disney vacation.

I was so incredibly proud of Noah.  From a presentation standpoint, he had everything that a good communicator should have:  he was funny, engaging, coherent, confident and thoroughly knowledgeable on his topic.  From a Christian standpoint, he was theologically sound and passionate.

It was his passion that communicated God's Word the most powerfully.  We have really tried as parents to instill a passion for serving the Lord and sharing His love with others.  Noah's passion during this time of teaching was an answer to prayer!

In many ways, Noah reminds me of Caleb and Joshua from the Old Testament.  When their contemporaries saw giants and a reason to fear, these two just oozed the confidence and passion of one who walks with God.  It is that passion and whole-hearted devotion to serving/trusting the Lord that allows Joshua and Caleb to enter into the Promised Land.

Hear Caleb tell it in Joshua 14:6-12:

"You know what the LORD said to Moses the man of God at Kadesh Barnea about you and me. 7 I was forty years old when Moses the servant of the LORD sent me from Kadesh Barnea to explore the land. And I brought him back a report according to my convictions, 8 but my brothers who went up with me made the hearts of the people melt with fear. I, however, followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly. 9 So on that day Moses swore to me, 'The land on which your feet have walked will be your inheritance and that of your children forever, because you have followed the LORD my God wholeheartedly.' 10 "Now then, just as the LORD promised, he has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time he said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the desert. So here I am today, eighty-five years old! 11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. 12 Now give me this hill country that the LORD promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the LORD helping me, I will drive them out just as he said."

Caleb had a passionate heart for God and that passion allowed him to claim the inheritance that His God had for him.  It also allowed him to boldly proclaim that promise.

And he was rewarded in Joshua 14:13-14: "13 Then Joshua blessed Caleb son of Jephunneh and gave him Hebron as his inheritance. 14 So Hebron has belonged to Caleb son of Jephunneh the Kenizzite ever since, because he followed the LORD, the God of Israel, wholeheartedly."

Noah's devotion is awesome.  It is something that we will continue to build, protect and cover in prayer.  It gives me a hopeful view of his future where he will be able to lay claim to the inheritance that God has for him.

I'm so lucky to be his Dad!