Probably Not a First...

but this time it caught me off-guard.

I'm not one to enjoy Halloween very much. In fact, I thought about blogging about how much I actually despise the holiday...but I'll save that for another time. Instead what caught me off-guard was what happened before Dale and the kids went out to Trick or Treat.

Even though I fail almost daily, I really try to eat healthier and feed my kids healthier than we ever have at anytime prior to now. Now maybe you get a glimpse into why I so strongly dislike Halloween!? Because of this, right before they left our home, I saw Dale had a water bottle filled with liquid (tea or water, I'm not sure?) and I asked all of the kids to take water bottles with them. I wanted them to be able to start flushing out the sugar crud with lots of water right from the start. But he said, he didn't want to carry water bottles while they walked and about the same time a few of us said, 'well, they could leave them in the car.' [They were driving to another neighborhood to Trick or Treat] Then Dale said something like, "They've never taken water bottles before, I don't know why they need to now."

And that's when it happened...the words crossed my brain...I was taking a breath...I was ready to open my mouth...

and my 11 year old said, "Well, we've always gone trick or treating near our house before."

Instantly...I recognized what had happened...my daughter has become me (just a smaller, younger version of me). My funny side kicked in and thought, "hmmm? I didn't know I could throw my voice?" And I started to chuckle...looked at Dale...it clicked with him what had just happened...and he started laughing too. All this while two of the kids started saying, "What? What's so funny?"

In the moment I was tickled and laughed...but as I processed through this, here's what I came away with: I need to be very certain that the things I'm teaching my kids are God's Truth, God's Word and God's Ways...not mine. Because they are not only watching and listening...they are becoming part of who we mold them to be.

And I recognize that this child with her intelligence, deep thinking and analytical nature is a little bit more like me than the other ones. But the others have characteristics of mine too...passion, creativity, drive, emotional volatility, critical nature toward themselves and others. Yeah...not all of those are always good. Our greatest strengths, in this case critical thinking skills...can be perverted by our enemy into a negative...for example, a judgmental, critical spirit. I know...I've struggled with this my whole life.

So I've realized this for years, but in a delightful, humorous moment, God reminded me that I not only need to speak, act and live in a manner that reflects Him...but identifying my children's giftedness also carries with it the responsibility of teaching them how to use those gifts for God's glory and not for selfish gain or in a negative way.

What a reminder! What an amazing God!