BLOG

So I Told Him This

“My goal is to help you”.

Had a “deep” conversation with our son (9) last night. He has several chores he’s responsible for. One of them is daily. This is the one that we discussed last night.

We finished our simple dinner from our screened-in back porch. The sun had set and it was dark outside, with only the light from inside the house gently illuminating our peaceful surroundings.

Conditioning led me to first offer a consequence for not doing what he is supposed to do. Then it hit me, what about a reward for doing it, instead of a punishment for not? We agreed to use both.

Generally, children are conditioned to think, “when you don’t do something you get in trouble”. I reminded him that the goal isn’t to catch him doing it wrong. The goal is grand and noble. And the goal is deceptively simple.

“My goal is to help you”.

Camel’s Back & The Straw

Ever heard the phrase, “It was the straw that broke the camel’s back”?

It’s a phrase I’ve heard a 1,000 times in America. Camel’s are incredibly strong and resilient. However, they do have a breaking point, a threshold that can be too much, and they collapse.

And when the breaking point is about to be reached, it can be something as small and light as a piece of straw.

Yesterday was like that. Was asked to substitute as lead teacher for last night’s Catechism class. For a variety of reasons (one’s I feel are valid), my son and I skipped Catechism last night.

Just couldn’t do it. Preparing for and leading the class was more than I could bear. Yes, guilt started to overwhelm me. Yes, felt I couldn’t say no, but did anyway.

Yes, from a distance, it only looked like a small and light piece of straw. Carpe diem.

PS. We did do the lesson at home, so our son wouldn’t fall behind.

Catechist’s Prayer

Catechist’s Prayer:

“Gracious and all loving Father, out of love for all people you spoke your Word who became flesh for our salvation. May your Word transform me so that the message of your Son, our Lord, may be echoed through my teaching. Allow me to guide the hearts of those whom I teach in such a way that they will enter more deeply into your way of truth and salvation. Grant me the insight needed to lead them to know, love, and serve you. With the guidance of the Holy Spirit, may they become hearers and followers of your Word, so that they may help transform the world to follow the way of life your Son has called us all, for he lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.”

Copyright 2009, US Conference of Catholic Bishops, Washington, D.C. All rights reserved.

Wednesday nights are reserved on our schedule for Catechism. Our son attends, and I help Miss Jane, the Instructor.

Pray Without Ceasing

Pray without ceasing. It rolls off our tongues so easily.

But do we?

Do we actually do it?

This is one of the biggest challenges humans face and the main reason we are so disconnected from what we want and from what we actually get.

Ever wonder what you’d get if you actually DID pray without ceasing?

Find a million ways to do this – to stay in the moment. Those continuous, seemingly insignificant moments that make up our day. Day after day. Week after week. Month after month. Year after year.

He’s My Son

Saturday’s post naming my top three favorite Christian artists, didn’t mention Mark Schultz. Why? It contained only the top three.

My good friend Craig reminded me of Mark Schultz – he’s number four. One song of his is particularly poignant, “He’s My Son“.

Here’s a 1 1/2 minute version capturing the essence. There were many, many nights, before our son’s disease was diagnosed that we felt fairly helpless. Not that we no longer do, but we at least know what we are dealing with.