Hi, My Name is John

She lied to me.  She stood right there in front of me and lied.  When I warned her she better tell the truth or I’d have to give her consequences, she looked me in the eye . . . and lied.  And I wanted to cry.

There are so many times as a parent that I feel ineffective.  No matter the consequence, no matter the number of times we address the issue, there are just some places in my child’s heart that I can not seem to reach.  As my daughter quickly reaches her teenage years, those unreachable places seem more and more out of grasp.

A Defining Choice

I just returned from a vacation in Mexico with my siblings and their spouses.

We’re an interesting bunch, my siblings and I, each one marked by their own personality and preferences. But, I’d have to say, we’re most interesting when we are together. We are like magnets on one another’s family traits, drawing out our shared strengths and flaws. Our group could easily be picked out in a crowd. Besides any physical resemblances you might notice, we’re loud and boisterous with a humor that’s decidedly sarcastic in nature.

It’s hard for us to show even the slightest seriousness without someone interjecting a cutting quip. Therefore, it is wise to think through every microscopic decision when part of the group. Any one, haphazardly made, could become the butt of every joke for the remainder of our shared time – or, the remainder of our lives.