Mother's Day, Father's Day, A Challenge for the Church, and Pots and Pans

I'm a pretty simple guy.  I think that's a humble and honest self assessment.  I don't ask for much for myself. 

Case in point, this year, I'll be turning 40.  Big 4-0.  Etc. 

Doesn't bother me much.  Jen, however, wants to have a party for me.  Again, I don't mind.  However, the planning thing seems a bit overwhelming to me.  Hence, I'd rather not do that part of the whole thing. 

Party=Okay and maybe even nice.
Me planning party/coming up with a guest list to the party/putting forward any effort on this party at all=Not okay

Perhaps a clown and a pony.....

But then I digress. 

I really don't demand big things for myself.  Just let the girls be potty trained (ohhhh, so close), my Giants win a world series at least every other season (I said AT LEAST...'15 is looking up), me have enough time to make the family their dinner, and enough time with God and my bride that I feel like I'm not being negligent and remember how blessed I truly am.  After this, I don't ask for a lot. 

Therefore, Father's Day, while nice, isn't a necessity to me.  I do like being exalted and held up a bit as a parent (as everybody does, from time to time).  However, there's about 1000 things I can think that I'd prefer rather than Father's Day. 

Fruit Cake, Italian Food, and Our Little Girl.

And Jesus saith unto them, Yea: did ye never read, Out of the mouth of babes and sucklings thou has perfected praise?  -Matthew 21:16 b (NASB)

Such a wonderful verse.  It speaks volumes.  To a parent, I find it perhaps a bit more profound. 

This year, I made a fruit cake.  My own recipe.  Had no experience.  Just made one.  I am quite familiar with the reputations that fruit cakes have.  I just knew what I would want in one and did it.   It ended up tasting great.  Jen didn't like it as much as she doesn't care for fruit in cake (to her credit, she did eat a piece).  

Turning a deaf ear and Mark Driscoll

It's funny how important it is, when staying home with kids, to be able to turn a deaf ear.  I'm not saying 24/7, but rather being able to wisely select when to listen or not to listen to people.

As a quick aside, it is NEVER okay to turn said deaf ear to either one's spouse or God. 

That said, please allow me to discuss this important tool in more detail. 

Let's Play

Play dates.  A wonderful thing for any child.  Today, I took Esther and Cynthia on their second since I began staying home with them. 

They had fun.  A lot of fun. 

The first was fun, too.  It was back in the summer.  It was a play date that was through our Bible class at our church.  It's a fine class and we've met many wonderful friends through it.  However, the idea of going to a play date with the girls gave me pause. 

Discussing daughters and boyfriends. (Already?!)

An interesting thought process that I wasn't aware of until the other weekend and then ended up hearing twice, from two different people:

If you have sons, you only have to worry about them.  If you have daughters, you have to worry about everybody else's sons. 

What is communicated here is rather obvious.  That parents of daughters must keep their eyes peeled for every single boy that might be interested in their daughters.  Because, of course, they will just be interested in them for sexual reasons. 

THIS IS HOGWASH!!

Potty training, provocation, and patience.

Nap time is a bit funny in the house.  It is my official 'rest time' (which really just means work, of sort, on another dimension).  It officially begins at 11:30 AM (Cynthia) and ends at either 2:30 (Cynthia again) or whenever Esther wakes (usually about 3:30), whichever is the latest. 

It is a variable time because, with Esther, 'nap' is more of a concept than an actual practice.  Halley's comet, it is not.  9 days out of 10, Esther doesn't sleep.  She's in her room (behind the ever present baby gate, which will remain there until she's about 4 or has figured out how to open it).  However, she usually spends the time playing and chatting to herself and her toys.  Sometimes singing (her latest favorite song is '100 bottles of pop on the wall').  Always entertaining.  I actually made several audio recordings of Esther's several naps for my mom (aka grandma Davis).  She loved them. 

However, the reason I am writing is not how my daughter spends her nap time.  Rather, it is to point out the importance of patience. 

Jaws, a twitch, and my daughter.

Here's my favorite clip from the movie Jaws.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BinyLUJwKEg

Sometimes it's easy to forget that children watch everything.  It's true.  They also like to imitate their parents. 

I have a twitch.  I'm sure some might call it a tic.  I am quite aware of it and also know exactly when it originated.  I am also sure that it is a bit disconcerting to some.  It's not caused by disease, but rather habit. 

This tic was developed when I was younger (I think it was the summer between my sixth and seventh grade years, but might be wrong).  I knew that there was a God and a devil.  My father told me some story of a play (probably Faust) where the main character sold his soul to the devil.  He had no idea how profoundly this would affect me as I got older.