Continuing with Heather’s fun barrage of questions, here’s another installation.

How to instill character in your children
Since faith comes by hearing the Word of God (and people who have faith are consequently faithful), we try to make sure they hear God’s Word daily. The other way is that we endeavor to live faithfully ourselves and are upfront about it when we fall short. You know the old saying, More is caught than taught. I hate being a hypocrite.

There are tons of books on the subject of child-rearing, but I like the Biblical description in Deuteronomy 6 of children catching God’s law along the way. Sometimes I’ll overhear my husband teaching with a bug, with a circuit, or with a story. He takes the trash out with my son every Sunday and Wednesday evening, and they take time to name the constellations. Greg will just casually mention how God is like the stars—vast, infinite, magnificent.

Shaping the tiny souls in our care is a large undertaking. We need wisdom—to know when to overlook an offense and when to stand firm; when to laugh and when to discipline; when to let go and when to manage carefully. We never pass up an opportunity to ask parents of grown children what they did right and what they wish they could do over. We try to listen without defense, and we pray for wisdom daily (and I’m not just saying that).

Ideas on how to show your husband how special he is with very little privacy
Sometimes when we need to catch up with one another, we’ll ban the kids to the backyard with a snack and tell them not to come in until we call them. If we need an evening alone, we’ll put the littles in bed at 8:00 p.m. and tell the olders to read in their room.

It is worth it to teach children obedience, if not just to have an hour alone but for the practice in obeying God. Even very young ones can be taught to occupy themselves for an hour.

Still, that doesn’t keep me from counting down the minutes until my oldest can officially baby sit. I can almost taste it.

What is your current favorite Scripture passage and why?
Psalm 73:25-26 says, “Whom have I in heaven but You? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.”

This verse reminds me that this world is not my home, and that all I could ever want—if I searched both heaven and earth—I have already. It’s a proclamation of truth as well as a prayer. It’s a verse of worship as well as a comfort. Whom do I have? God, the One who made all things. “Earth has nothing I desire…” The Psalmist states this as a plain observation, but it’s a remark of adoration as well. I like this because I receive satisfaction in my worship of Him. St. Augustine noted, “Our souls are restless until they find their rest in Thee.” And John Piper’s famous tagline reiterates, “God is most glorified in us when we are most satisfied in Him.”