Rants on Life, God, and Pastoring

I love my children!  You should know that by now.  When we go out in public everyone comments on how well behaved and polite they are.  They are little angels…sometimes.  I am going to type this in segments.  The time I have in between chasing them and telling to stop doing the same things over and over.  I am at home with my little angels, and they are not the same here as they are in public.  There have been times in public that they show their true colors, but they are few and far between.  One time Micah did something in a grocery store that he knew was wrong and he screamed at the top of his lungs, “Please don’t hit me again!”  That was a tough one to explain.  Ady does not like riding in the buggy, and she is prone to fits of obnoxious screaming until we finally remove her for the sake everyone’s sanity. For the most part though, they are great children.  We have worked hard to teach them how to behave and be respectful.  Micah says Yes Mam and Yes Sir because we are teaching him.  Kids are great at repeating what they see and hear.  They are learning from us, so we try our best give them good examples to follow.  Just this morning Micah took Adyson’s spoon and told her that we don’t eat until we say the blessing.  He then prayed for everything under the sun and when he finished they both said Amen. 

However, it seems that they are better at mimicking our bad behaviors than those that are more desirable.  One time Adyson saw me spit a “Quid” (horrible word, but not many options…lugey?) into the toilet.  She cried to get into the bathroom after I closed the door.  When I granted her entry in the bathroom she proceeded to spit in the toilet just like she saw me do.  Micah heard us call our dog a fat girl at home and while at Walmart he asked us, very loudly, if the lady in front of us was a “Fat Girl”.  That was also hard to explain.  Micah tells Adyson to stop being a pest because he heard me say it one time.  Adyson has developed her vocal talents to a point that she is now saying everything she hears like a miner bird.  The kids repeat everything they hear and see.  As I am typing this, both kids are working on their toy lap tops just like me.   

Matthew 5:16 let’s us know that everything we do is a representation of our Father.  Everything we do and say should point people to the change Jesus has made in our life!  He has given us the direction and living example of how to act.  It is up us to follow Him and personify His attributes here on earth.  How well do you depict God’s love and grace?  What kind of picture do you paint of Jesus in public?  How about when no one is looking?