Children...

I wanted to share some notes I’ve written to myself over the years and I thought they might bring you a little encouragement, too.

- Read to your child every night. It brings joy to your child’s spirit.

- Children are like pieces of clay. We can ignore them and they will gradually dry up and fall to pieces. We can pound them and chip away their spirits so that the “sculputure” you’re left with is rough and misshapen. Or, we can gently mold them with love, compassion, and kindness so that they can become the people God intended for them to be.

- “Get closer, not louder.” (This wonderful piece of advice is not my own. Someone told me this many years ago and I’ve never forgotten the advice, but I have forgotten who gave it to me so many years ago.)

- If you think of your children as flowers, remember to care for them with love and tenderness. When you pull off the beautiful petals, they don’t always grow back.

- And one of my favorites came from an interview I watched one time about the author of Peter Pan. This one is not my own, but I have always remembered the comment. “You should never put little boys to bed. They always wake up a day older.”

I pray that you enjoy your children this week with a fresh perspective and a renewed joy for the privilege we have when we care for children.

Sonya