Demonstration is key

I'm pretty sure the above is a quote... and if it is, I'm going to give credit to Marie Clay- the founder of Reading Recovery and possibly the smartest person in the area of early literacy to have ever lived. This post, however, is not about literacy... there is no room in my brain anymore for thoughts on that (unfortunately). But this post is about demonstrations.

You see, I happened to glance over at this cute little man...

all dressed up- no where to go (Doc says he has to stay home for the first 8 weeks).

Anyway, it hit me. I have 2 little boys. Two little boys who need to turn into men. Men who love Jesus. Men who love their wives and support them. Men who can support their families. Men who can be "manly" and godly in a world where that's not always popular. Men who can catch a fish, and kill a deer, and throw, hit, kick, and catch a ball. Whew, that's a lot of responsibility.

And then I thought of the Clay quote, "demonstration is key." Her theory is that we talk at kids so much they lose the message when sometimes all they need is a simple demonstration.

See this little guy?

His attention span is about 37.2 seconds. He doesn't need us to tell him how to be a good man... he needs someone to SHOW him.

And that's where this guy comes in-- because daily he models being a good man.

He loves Jesus. He loves his wife. He loves and supports his family-- and goes to work every dayto support his family-- even if a certain newborn has been screaming all night, He is manly, godly, and he can catch fish like nobody's business. He can kill a deer- and gut it- but that's just gross... let's not talk about that. And unlike momma, he can throw, hit, kick, and catch a ball. Here's hoping that our little ones inherited his athleticism.

Oh, and he can read. (That's just a bonus!)

So my boys are lucky to have a good example of a man as they grow up to be men. And what about me? Am I doing my part? Well, I'm trying...

I'm training my boy to be a good husband someday and help with the dishes!!