Starting Lent...

This year for lent I have decided to write for myself to learn more about being a spiritual parent or at least try harder ;)  In our Sunday School class we have been using a website called spiritualparenting.com and it has a "thought for the day" that we use to kind of jump start our conversations and get our juices flowing to think about our kids and the Bible.  I thought this would be a way for me to do it every day and just kind of see what kind of blogs it would lead to at that specific moment.

Blogger of course would not let me post this yesterday for some reason, so I'm just putting yesterday's start and today's together...

"Think of your yourself as part of your child's support team rather than her only lifeline."

I completely agree with this.  I think that it's important for Regan to have many people in her life to help mold her into the person that she has become.  I believe that we've thought about this from the beginning and maybe it's because she is without that father parental figure, but we knew from the beginning that we could find people that would fulfill that role and nurture her in that sense.  I can think of handful of men in her life that she absolutely adores and they adore her in the same sense.  We have tried to put Regan in situations where she would have adults that would help build her self-esteem and love her no matter what.  She is currently in preschool, we go to church, and she is in dance class.  In all 3 she has found niche and adults that can be her support team.

I think this quote can go towards the parents as well.  I want Amanda to be my support team, but I don't want her to be my only "lifeline" to the real world.  I have to admit that staying at home with Regan was a decision that I am so glad that I made because I get to see her grow and change every day, but at the same token it means that I do not have as much adult interaction as I once did at my job.  It's hard for me to find those special friends that can be my outlet away from Amanda.  I think everybody needs friends that they can hang out with without their wife...I know that I've struggled with that over the years, but have definitely gotten better with making friends and stretching myself to meet new people.

I am learning about myself everyday and hope that the things that I am teaching Regan will stick with her for a lifetime.  "Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love." - Ephesians 4:2