Daddy's Birthday Girl
Revealing God’s Nature
One of our main goals as parents is to reveal the character and nature of God to each child He has given us. This is the work the Father gave Jesus to do while He was on the earth “I have glorified thee on the earth: I have finished the work which thou gavest me to do…I have manifested thy name unto the men which thou gavest me…” (See John 17:4,6) One of the scriptures that reveal the character and nature of God is Zephaniah 3:17 “The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his love, he will joy over thee with singing.”
I want my children to know that God is:
- In their midst: He is present and available to them at anytime, anywhere.
- Mighty to save: He is a protector over them and able to heal them in spirit, soul, mind and in body.
- Rejoicing over them: He is joyful and well pleased with them in Christ Jesus.
- Renewing them: He is their strength and he renews them as they rest in his love.
- Delights in singing: He is glad to be with them.
Delighting in Our Children
We bring great joy to our children when we delight in them. One of the greatest ways to delight in your children is to be glad to be with them. As a father of seven girls I’m learning how to delight being with them in ways that are meaningful to each one. They are all so unique, my one daughter feels delighted in when I spend quantity and quality time with her talking. Another daughter knows I delight to be with her when I take her to the fabric store to help her pick out fabric for her projects. I took this opportunity to learn how to delight in my four year old daughter Ava. This was one of our first dates all alone, she was so excited just to get in the car with daddy all by herself.
A Date at the Salon
We began our date by taking Ava to the beauty salon. She went through the whole process of getting her hair washed, being prepped for the hair cut and meeting some of the special people who work at the salon.
Ava had previously cut her own her a couple of times so this was a bit different to watch someone else cut it. I wondered if she was getting any new ideas for later. My sister Jacqueline is a master stylist and she helped us to make this day special by giving her a classic hair style.
When she was finished, Ava looked in the mirror with satisfaction. She gave her Aunt Jacqueline a big hug and we were off to the store to find some special gifts for the birthday girl.
We arrived home after a long day and a little nap in the car to find some gifts that her brothers and sisters had made for her. Sophia had made a special apron for Ava and her little sister Victoria so they could be matching.
We had a birthday dinner and gathered around for the birday cake. We all delighted in Ava and she knew that we were all glad to be with her.
Posted by Chris Hogan on Wednesday, February 13, 2008 at 13:40 PM
