Girls are smarter

So I am back from my blog sabbatical, and you would think that after a hiatus like that I would come out swinging with some powerful post. To the contrary I have to share a funny story that happened yesterday. I will procrastinate on powerful for now.

Yesterday morning I am driving my girls along with two boys of friends of ours to school. The boys are close in age to each of my girls (6 & 10). Somehow, I am sure I started it, the conversation got into... "Girls drool and boys rule!" "No Boys drool and Girls rule!". My daughter Starr, who must always win a debate, chimes in with these statements.

Starr "Girls are smarter than boys because they don't have to think about sports and stuff"
Sam (boy, age 9) "Yeah, but boys get to rule the house cause the man is the head of the house"
I so wanted to give him a pound and say amen. I didn't because his argument was with my daughter and that would probably look like I was taking his side.
Starr "Yeah but I'm smarter because I'm smart enough not to have babies. Cause you know babies don't come out of the mom's belly. They come out of their butt!"
Sam "That's gross!"
Starr "I'm smart. And I don't want to get stitches in my butt, so I am not going to have any babies. But I love my baby Riley though"
Sam "That's gross! Starr"
Me "Let's talk about something else Starr"

At this point it is all I can do to keep from pulling the car over, getting out and laughing hysterically. However, once again, that would look bad because this young boy just had some of his innocence scared for life. So, I waited till they were out of the car and I was back on the road before laughing out loud and calling my wife to share the story.

Jaden's Prayer

This is Monday night's prayer by Jaden. (this is also a typical prayer for her)

Dear Lord,
Thank you that I had a good day. I hope that I have a good day tomorrow. I hope that everybody in the hospitals have a good day and that they will get better. Even the ones that are sick. And, I hope that the baby isle has a good day. And, I hope that everybody has a good day! Help that I don't dream about the Leprechaun tonight. And, Amen

Her prayer is always about others. Never just about herself, her family, or even friends. She always prays for people in the hospital and the sick. Of course, Little Momma (Jaden's nick name) always has to throw in a shout out to babies in some way. I have so much to learn about prayer from my kids.

Disappearing Ink

"Here try my pen. This thing is awesome. Squirt!"
One of the best gags out there. When I was 10 there was nothing more entertaining than getting someone with a white shirt and squirting some disappearing ink on them. You would watch them get freaked out then realize that it was gone. And most of the time they would jump right in to help prank the next victim.

"LORD, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered, and that my life is fleeing away. My life is no longer than the width of my hand. An entire lifetime is just a moment to you; human existence is but a breath."
Psalm 39:4-5 NLT

I only have a short time on earth to leave a mark on people. When I die that mark will fade away quickly. I do not want my kids to leave the same mark on lives as I am. I want them to leave their own mark. What I want to teach them is how to leave a mark.
My pastor is a man that I think has learned this lesson and is living it. For years now He has been giving many young people opportunities to get up on the pulpit and preach, or lead in youth, or in children's ministry. I always thought that he just wanted less work and it was a nice chance to get a break for him. I am sure that it is a nice break, but in reality I think he is trying to teach and give younger people a chance to leave their mark. He is not spending his time trying to make his mark permanent. He is helping others in leaving their mark. Now that's a legacy that I want to leave in my family.

"Lord help me to train my family how to pull off a disappearing ink prank well!"

If your like me and this blog-off re-ignited a desire to get someone with disappearing ink then click here and let's go soil some shirts.