God's purpose

Bedtime is usually a difficult time of day for me. I want it to be sweet and memorable, not full of wildness and strife. However, by the end of the day, I'm a little done, so bedtime can be challenging. We've done several things that make it better: memorizing a Psalm together, reading Encyclopedia Brown (thank you, Aunt Samantha), or talking about the things that made us laugh. My favorite thing recently has been a book my loving husband gifted me, Hymns for a Kid's Heart.

Now, I know lots of people think hymns are boring and dull, but I love the really good ones. This book is written for children with stories of hymn composers or other people who influenced classic hymns. It's a bit like a devotional, but it doesn't feel forced like some children's devotions do. It's a bit cheesy, but, kids usually don't think things are cheesy; kids are experiencing it the first time around.

Last night we read the story of "The Lord is My Shepherd." Chase chose it because he memorized Ps. 23 in class this year. It was a lovely time of reading the story of King Edward (you know, the one who became king at age 9 and died a few years later) and the making of the Book of Common Prayer and the Psalter. They were amazed that people couldn't pray to God in their own language and that God used a child to spread His word. It was such a sweet time of singing this song and watching them start to realize that God has a purpose for them. We've known that for a long time, but all three of them catching a glimpse of God's purpose for their lives was special.