:to shine a light:

The last few times I've been putting Ethan to sleep, he's been grabbing the taplight and walking around the room to illuminate certain corners of the room. He also likes to shine the light on his train table saying, "more light." it's very adorable.

I've thought that this new development is pretty cute, but sometimes I'm too preoccupied with trying to get him in bed that I've been missing out on something God has been showing me.

One of the callings I have as a father to Ethan is that be an example of Christ to him. The point being is that before anyone sits him down to talk to him about Jesus, he will have a strong foundation of his parents' example to say, "yeah, I understand what you're saying... My dad and mom showed me what that meant." something along those lines.

The truth is, Janice and I aren't the best parents. It's hard to always be on your guard and to always walk with integrity. At least for me. Janice is much better at this than i am. However, having a child, especially now as he's a toddler and very observant, it's really forced me to think long and hard about my example to him. it's a very passive way of discipling someone, not really with words, but with action, example, tone and heart.

So, when he was picking up his light and shining it around the room, for some reason i started to well up with tears. it was really God saying to me, "he will have a light of his own from ME, and he will shine it."

there are days where the grace of God is a million miles away from my perception, and then there are days when he sticks it right in my face and says, "here it is, take it."