Priceless moments

The first time you see HER; The first date; The first kiss; Every kiss after that; Hearing those words, "I do", The birth of the first child (Miranda); 5 more after that (Bethany, Cody, Kayla, Shane & Austin); each child's first words, steps, day of school, date, graduation......... You get the picture.

All of these are priceless moments, important moments, and moments I would never want to miss. Thank you God for letting me be there. All of these moments require a bit of investment. Not so much monetarily, as time. Is it worth it? YES!!!!!!

Never underestimate the value of investing time with your children. The more you invest, the more rewards/blessing you, and they, will receive. For example, reading a book with your child. In the 13 years that I was principal and teacher in a small Christian School, and the 8 years I've been a children's pastor, I've observed that a very high percent of children whose parents invested the time to read to them, have a head start in their learning skills and their social skills. This leads to greater confidence in the Sunday School class room and School room.

The child has already learned how to sit still and listen, and often times has developed an active imagination. These children will often grasp the point of a lesson quicker and earlier than those who haven't had the opportunity to have their parents read to them. Whether they should or not, teachers will tend to give these more mature children, special attention because they are easier to teach and seem hungry to learn. Of course, as in most all things, there are exceptions to the rule.

One of the largest benefits to reading with your children, is the special bond that it creates between you. Notice also that I said reading WITH your children. Some of my fondest memories with my children are when they read to me, before they really knew how to read. They would tell me the story as I turned the pages or they would gleefully inform me when I would make up something other than the way it was written just to see if they were paying attention.

Priceless moments. Moments that I hope to relive with my Grandchildren. Moments that I pray my children will pass on to their children, and they on to theirs. For an example, I encourage you to go to this blog and look at the video of Miranda reading with Brayden. It's priceless.
http://ramandamatteson.blogspot.com/2009/10/dear-zoo.html