what God thinks about....

while i was at the catalyst conference i became really convicted of my lack of spiritual leadership in the home. if you were to just look at the basic "score card" that we have developed over the years in the modern church i would have rated pretty high. i definitely would have passed the test by most any definition of what it means to be a spiritual leader.

read bedtime Bible stories with the kids....check
pray with the family before meals....check
teach the importance of being generous with our money and time....check
willing to take a stand on Biblical principles....check
pray with sydney before i drop her off at school....check

what i learned about myself was i do a great job of doing the exterior/superficial things. please do not misunderstand me to say that these things are not important. they are very important. however, i knew something was missing. i knew God was trying to teach me something about my faith and about the way i love Him back.

when i came home from catalyst i knew i needed to be more disciplined in my personal time with God. i was having a quiet time most days but i wasn't consistent in when i had my time alone with God. all too often i would work it in when i could. sadly, there were days when it simply fell off the radar. i knew this had to change if i was going to model what it meant to be a disciple to my family.

a good friend of mine says you teach what you know and you reproduce what you are. wow...no pressure! his son is one of my best friends and a very godly person. in conversations with my friend he has mentioned on numerous occasions that he remembers waking up in the mornings as a kid to find his dad sitting in his chair reading/meditating on the Word of God. i can't help but believe that his example had a profound impact on my friends life.

with all of these things in mind i determined that i would start each day in the Word. before i check the messages on my phone, look at my calendar, etc... and although it might not have been the best reason i also wanted my daughter to see me each morning spending time with my Lord. yesterday when sydney got up she stumbled into the living room. she saw that i was reading my Bible and asked if she could sit on the arm of my chair for a few minutes while she tried to "really wake up." of course i welcomed her into the circle and introduced her into the conversation.

as she was sitting there i told her that i had been spending some time with God and that he was continuing to teach me how much He loves us. i pointed to the place i was reading in psalm 8. i told her that the Bible says that He is mindful of us....that God the creator cares about and thinks about us. her eyes lit up!

in that very moment it dawned on me what God was doing. in a way that only He could do it God spoke to my soul. i LOVED having my daughter sit next to me first thing in the morning. i LOVED telling her that i loved her. i LOVED telling her that God loves her and thinks about her. and the Spirit whispered into my soul....this is how God feels when you sit with Him...and give Him the opportunity to LOVE you deeply.

thank you lord...