a splash of sunshine (teach your children well)

That is one happy grandson!

DAVID! It's time, evidently, for a little shot-in-the-arm from our grandson, David. I honestly don't know how I would survive this huge 1,300 mile gap between us without my versatile iPhone 4.

Of course it helps that our awesome daughter, Naomi, is so good about posting pictures, videos etc, and that we also "talk" via Skype on a regular basis. Not a day goes by without fresh images and great stories to go with them.

This is why I pasted this disarmingly cute smiley-face pic of David right at the beginning of this post. I mean, who couldn't feel better about pretty-much anything looking at a face like that?

REFLECTION: It's fairly obvious to me that David is a mirror of sorts. You know his mama is smiling down at him, and he is learning her kind of exuberance. And he's not just a mirror but a sponge - David is soaking up everything that his mama and daddy value, everything that defines their meaning of life; they are his foundation and his launching pad into every tomorrow that is to come.

Fact is, parents teach their children all the time. It's not a question of "if?" parents are teaching at home so much as "what?" is being taught.

Early childhood sets a trajectory that is significantly important. In a nation where every imaginable advantage is available for its children, a disturbing number of infants miss out on the most important advantage of all, and that's a set of parents who actually follow through in the context of a household defined by love.

"Hey, pay attention, my granddaddy's talking here...."

SIMPLE EQUATION: The life-charged life is not rocket science; it hinges - quite simply - on the principles expressed in 1 Corinthians 13:

Love is kind and patient, never jealous, boastful, proud, or rude. Love isn't selfish or quick tempered. It doesn't keep a record  of wrongs that others do. Love rejoices in the truth, but not in evil. Love is always supportive, loyal, hopeful, and trusting. Love never fails!

LOVE: That's what I mean by a household defined by love. Like I said, in a nation where every imaginable advantage is available for children, why are so few raised in homes where love is a greater value than self, consumption, entertainment, money, television, distraction, acquisition, power, control...?

When everything else is gone but our last few days of breath as living human beings, then all that will really matter is how we have responded to God's invitation to live faithful lives defined by love, the "Love-charged Life."

Go hug someone today. Love out loud. Really...  DEREK