Gavin,Tattoos & Morning Car Rides

The most interesting, and in depth, conversations that I have with my now 7 year old son, Gavin, tend to happen during the morning drive to the babysitter's house. This morning's conversation was no exception.

We pass a local tattoo shop every morning, and apparently this morning was the first time that Gavin has really taken notice of it.

"Mom? They have a whole store just for tattoos?"

Keeping in mind that Gavin's only exposure to tattoos has been the "temporary" kind, I asked him if he knew what a tattoo was.

He said he did, and described the procedure of applying a stick-on tattoo. (I can only imagine that Gavin had pictured a store with rows upon rows of stick-on tattoos)

I then explained the ins and outs of the words "temporary" and "permanent" and then went on to describe what a real tattoo is...right down to the needles in a tattoo machine.

He was floored.

We then discussed the pain issue, and then why someone would want or not want a tattoo.

He has decided that he thinks tattoos are neat...but isn't sure that he wants one because he might change his mind after getting one done.

It was funny to watch his mind work on this subject...permanent was a bit hard for him to grasp completely. He compared it to a baby getting a tattoo and still having it when it had grown up.

I said "Yes...but you're not allowed to tattoo a baby".

I told him that there was a way to remove a tattoo, but that it was expensive and painful.

He was floored when I told him that it was done with a laser.

(I can only imagine that he then pictured a huge laser beam removing the tattoo...lol)

He asked "How bad does it hurt to remove a tattoo?"I told him that I didn't know but that I heard that it could be pretty painful.

"Does it hurt more than hating Jesus?"

I replied "No baby. Nothing hurts more than hating Jesus."

And that's what makes our car rides so special.

Isaac repeats Abraham's mistake...coincidence??

So, something I've been pondering since recently reading Genesis 26.
Isaac makes a mistake identical to a mistake his father had made...ironically enough, towards the same people...(Abraham's version of the story can be found in Genesis 20)

I ponder, because Isaac's mistake was made some 90 years after his father initially pulled the same stunt. Isaac obviously wasn't witness to his father's blunder, and the Bible never refers to Abraham ever doing it again once he was called out on it. This leads me to wonder if Abraham, through other seemingly unrelated examples, passed this behavior to his son...or if it's just coincidence...

It serves as a reminder to me that our behaviors are what influence our children; their ability to avoid our past mistakes rests heavily on our ability to change ourselves and to teach by a healthier example.

I have changed my circumstances drastically since having Gavin. He will never witness me making mistakes that I had previously made. But he can still learn the behaviors that led me to my mistakes. He will most likely find himself in some, if not most, of the same situations that I had found myself in. But how will he choose?

I'm sure that Abraham didn't think he needed to sit Isaac down and have a chat with him about passing his wife off as his sister...and I'm sure that Abraham would look at his son, wagging a finger at him, and say "This is not how I taught you to be."

Most importantly I realized that we can live a seemingly better life and still not properly equip our children to make different decisions than we had made.

I know that the more I grow in faith and obedience to God, the more that my outward actions and behaviors will change. I must keep this as a constant goal, for my children's futures are at stake.

When will people learn?...No, REALLY, when???

We’ve all heard it, and we’ve all said it. It always follows news that, yet again, the same old thing has gone the same old route and has ended the same old way. We glare at “it”, we shake our heads, seeing that things could’ve worked differently “if only” someone-ANYONE- would just learn. And then we say it. “When will people learn?”

When will people learn?

Typically it is in the times of hardship, or in result to a wrong decision. Unfortunately, because we’ve learned something doesn’t always mean that we’ll do something different in the future. Learning things…Knowing things, only equips us with a tool. In order to experience change, we must implement this knowledge.

Therefore, the question really shouldn’t be “When will people learn?”, for they probably already learned it…several times. The question should be “When will people use what they’ve learned?” This new question asks us if we will implement our knowledge in order to gain an altered outcome. Did we learn? Will we then apply what we’ve learned? The application of knowledge is defined as Wisdom. Wisdom is more than just knowing something; it’s using that knowledge in your circumstances.

When we think of wisdom, we think of our elders, or of contemplative scholars. Wisdom is not outside of our reach. Wisdom can, and should, be attained in our personal lives. We can attain the knowledge for wisdom through several different ways: learning from our mistakes, learning from other’s mistakes, and taking advice.
Solomon encourages us to “Cry out for insight, and ask for understanding. Search for them as you would for silver. Seek them like hidden treasures.” Proverbs 2:3-4.

This serves as a reminder to me, that I may gain knowledge and understanding through my circumstances and through other’s advice. But I must still cry out to God and beseech Him for His knowledge and His understanding. I haven’t, and won’t, experience everything that life has to offer in order to attain knowledge on every subject. I must heed Solomon’s advice to search for insight and understanding in order to fill the gaps that my life experiences have yet to fill. Most importantly, though, searching through a Spirit filled heart in order to find the things that are true and right in God.

We must not be defiant, in accepting advice, allowing ourselves to be held accountable by others and gaining further insight. But we must seek God’s truth in everything, that we may make wise decisions based on truthful knowledge. We must be careful to also discern, within ourselves, lesson that we learn from our own paths. How many times do we act based on warped feelings, claiming that these actions are the result of our past. This is not wisdom.

My strength and determination are renewed to continue towards God’s wisdom, that I may then be equipped to influence the course of my life.
Otherwise, God will continue to ask me “When will you learn?”