Teachable moments are important things.
When I taught at Southern, I (occasionally) attended chapel, talked to some brilliant theologians, learned from some great missiologists, and even read a few books. But, one of the more important teachable moments came in a brief conversation with Hershael York.
Hershael and I were talking one day and he told me of a practice he had with his children. Hershael told them (when they were young) that he would take them on trips at certain ages:
- When they were 10, he would take them anywhere they wanted to go in the United States.
- When they were 15, he would take them anywhere they wanted to go in the world.
And, he explained how these were pivotal times for children and time with their father was an important part of that. It was a teachable moment for me.
I stole the idea and started telling my oldest, Kristen, the same thing. I told her when she was 4 (knowing that she would never be 10).
Well, kids do grow up... and Saturday she is 10. (That sure happened fast.)
So, she picked:
- Disneyland
- Riding to the Pacific Coast Highway in a convertible, and
- Yosemite
Hershael was right: there are key moments in your children's lives when you can talk about things that matter, far away from the rush of life. Children have those teachable moments, too. They happen everyday, yes, but you can also find special times to be together and talk. And, thanks to a bunch of frequent flyer and frequent stayer points, this is a way I can spend special time with my daughters.
That's what Kristen and I are doing today-- and it is much more important than all the speaking, writing, and leading that I might otherwise do.
Anyway, if you like some pictures, you can follow the adventure on Twitter (the pic is from the Twitter feed).
So, back to the car, the sunglasses, "tweener" tunes on the CD, and another day in the park taking pictures of flowers, trees, and mountains with her new birthday camera...
Updated-- Here are a few pictures from yesterday and today (from the Twitter feed):
The Exchange is a part of CT's
Blog Forum. Support the work of CT.
Subscribe and get one year free.
The views of the blogger do not necessarily reflect those of Christianity Today.
