Blood of the Lamb

“Is it really necessary for us to kill something just because we make a mistake?” Enosh asked as he walked next to Father.

“It is the way of forgiveness,” his father responded. “It is what God asks of us.”

“How did it start?” Enosh asked, stepping quickly to keep up with Father’s long stride. “I mean, I know who made the first sacrifice, but why does it have to be like this?”

Father shifted the position of the lamb he carried on his shoulders. “You know this, Enosh! You tell me why?”

“Because God said so.” Enosh stated.

“Yes, but why?” Father asked.

“Because Adam and Eve broke the rules.” Enosh said.

“The first sin,” Father said. “And the first sacrifice.”

“But why?” Enosh asked again. “Look! The city!”

They had just come around a corner on the mountain trail and now the city of Jerusalem lay in the clearing below them.

“Look at the temple!” Father said, pointing to the middle of the city. The temple’s white marbled splendour was hard to miss. It was like a pile of fresh snow in a dirty city.

Father gave Enosh a gentle shove and headed down the trail. “Come on, let’s get down there!”

Enosh took one last look at the city. Coming up behind Father, Enosh studied the lamb draped across Father’s shoulders. The lamb’s little head peered over the edge of the precipice, down at the city.

“He has no idea,” Enosh said as he fell into step with his father.

“Hmmm?” Father said.

“The lamb,” Enosh said, looking at the small legs father was holding loosely against his chest. “He has no idea that his throat is about to be slit from ear to ear.”

“That’s a bit gruesome,” Father said.

“But it’s true,” Enosh said. “Isn’t it? The priest is gonna hold him down on the altar and pull a knife against his little neck and all his blood will spurt out and he’ll die.” Enosh said all of this with a matter-of-fact seriousness, trying to act like it didn’t bother him.

“True enough,” Father said. “That is what will happen.”

“I still don’t get it,” Enosh said. “Why does our lamb have to die?” His voice betrayed him, cracking, as he spoke. “Or any lamb? They didn’t do anything wrong.”

Father stopped on the side of the trail and squatted down. He lifted the lamb off his shoulders and placed it in front of himself. Enosh came around the other side of the lamb and ran his fingers through its soft coat.

“Enosh,” Father said.

Enosh looked up and blinked against the tears. He looked across the lamb into his father’s eyes. “Yes, Father?”

“Offering a sacrifice teaches us three things,” Father explained. “First, we give one of our own animals, not a stray or a wild animal, so we feel the loss. By giving up something we value, we take ownership of what is about to happen.”

Enosh looked down at the lamb and slowly back up to his father. “But it’s sad. It hurts in here,” Enosh pushed his fist into his stomach. “It’s hard to breath.”

“That’s what sin should do to us,” Father said, “every time.”

Enosh nodded.

“The second thing we learn,” Father continued, “when we offer a sacrifice, is that God wants to forgive us. But it’s a difficult thing. Sin is like death. It takes God’s breath away, too. Only through a blood sacrifice can sin be forgiven. I don’t think I understand it any better than you do, really. But God said it, and so we do it. One day we will all understand.”

Enosh was surprised to hear his father say he didn’t understand. He thought his Dad knew everything! He explored his father’s face. “So, you mean, it hurts God when we sin, just like it hurts us when we make a sacrifice?”

Father nodded.

“That makes me like God a bit more,” Enosh said. “I mean, a lot more than when I thought He just wanted us killing animals all the time.”

Father smiled. “And that, my son, is the third thing every sacrifice teaches us. God wants us as close as possible. By forgiving us, God is able to invite us closer. And we are able to approach Him.”

Enosh and Father tussled the lambs fur awhile longer and then father lifted it onto his shoulders and stood. Silently he walked toward Jerusalem. Enosh followed.

When they arrived at the temple, Father left Enosh by one of the courtyard gates. He was only ten, too young to go in. From where he stood, he could clearly see the altar.

It wasn’t long before it was Father’s turn. He lifted the lamb off his shoulders and handed it to the priest. The priest laid the lamb on its side and held it down firmly with one hand. With the other hand he drew a knife quickly and deeply across the little lamb’s throat.

Enosh saw blood gush out, into a bowl, and past the bowl onto the ground. The lamb twitched and jerked before going deathly still. The priest dipped his fingers into the bowl and applied blood on the horns of the altar. Then he poured the rest of the blood across the top of the altar.

Enosh shook his head sadly and a shiver ran up his spine.

Father nodded at the priest and walked toward the gate. Enosh quickly spun, putting his back against the wall outside the gate. Soon father emerged.

“Come along, Enosh,” father said, “All done.” Then after a pause, Father added, “Well, until next time.”

Saving Hamsters

When I was in Year 7 I decided to raise a little money. I bought two hamsters. A boy hamster. And a girl hamster. When they were old enough the girl hamster had babies. I had talked to the local pet store and they had assured me that they would buy the babies from me once they had hair.

The morning after the first litter of hairless baby hamsters were born I carefully added food to the dish and water to the bottle on the side of the cage. As I was leaving my room to head off to school I realized that it was quite cold on my desk in the corner where the aquarium with the little family in it was resting. So, I quickly picked up their home and moved it over to the window where the morning sun could warm the babies and parents.

When I returned from school I was heartbroken to find that the sun had mercilessly cooked all of the baby hamsters. The mum and dad were fine. But the heat had been too much for the fragile newborns. They were all dead. All seven of them. I felt horrible. It was my fault. If only I would have left them on the desk. If only. I knew they needed sun. But they also needed protection from the sun.

When the next litter was born I devised a plan. I arranged the aquarium so that only half of it would get sun. Then they could get some sun, but still have the freedom to move away from the sun. But the little babies didn’t get the point. They didn’t see the grand plan and they just sat there in the sun. And cooked.

So, with litter three I added a new phase to my plan. I went to the fridge and got a small piece of cheese. Then I went to the spice rack and got the black pepper, some coriander and a pinch of salt. I rubbed each spice into the cheese. It was perfect. I went and arranged myself so that I was leaning over their aquarium. And then I ate the cheese. It worked. Slowly… But it worked. The mixture was perfect and I began to shrink. Soon I was only the size of one of the parent hamsters and I was sitting on the edge of the aquarium swinging my legs. I dropped into the aquarium, making sure not to land on any of the third litter. I curled into a ball and the final phase of my incarnation medication kicked in. I grew fur, four little pink feet and a really cute wiggly nose. I was a hamster! Yes! But I still had all my human super smarts. I had a plan and it was in full swing.

I went to the little baby pinkies and said, “Hey guys, spend a bit of time in the sun and then move over into the shady side. Don’t get cooked like those who have gone before you.” They just stared back at me – with closed eyes and wiggling noses. I tried again, “The sun is hot! The sun – that big round thing out the window – it gets real hot. It’ll warm you up. But, then you’ve got to move! Ok?” They squeeked in my general direction. Had they understood? I couldn’t tell.

By this time their parents had come to check out the new hamster that had dropped from above. They waddled up to me and nuzzled me for a bit. Suddenly I had a thought, These are the parents! The guardians of the little ones. I’ll tell them! So, I did. They didn’t seem impressed. Their response baffled me. They said, “Nope. That’s not why the babies die. They just die. The have all died. Death is inevitable. Nothing we can do about it. And we reckon, why not die warm. So, we put them in the sun while they die.” I was dumbfounded. I tried to correct their misconceptions. It’s the sun that’s killing them! They didn’t like my ideas. Who was I to correct them anyhow?

I went and began picking the babies up in my little bucktoothed mouth and carrying them to the cool corner. The parents began squeaking uncontrollably. After I dropped a baby in the shade and headed back to pick up the next one, the mother would grab the one I’d just dropped and move it back into the sun. It was useless, but I kept trying. And trying. And they kept ruining every attempt I made.

Then I had another idea. I began furiously pulling out all of my hair. The two adult hamsters stopped scurrying and watched me in fascinated horror. I ripped out every bit of hair that I could reach with my teeth. Then I explained, “You are adults. You have hair. Your hair protects you from the sun. Watch.” Then I went over and laid down in the sunny corner. On top of the babies. Protecting them from the sun that was bearing down on us. I began to get hot. Very hot. My breath started to speed up. My back stung where the sun seared my hairless skin. My breath became like breathing fire. Finally it was too much and my little hamster body died. The parents saw me stop breathing. They approached carefully and sniffed. I was dead. They pushed their noses against me and rolled me off of their little ones. Then they buried me with the sawdust that covered the floor of their home.

Moments later my dead body began to pulse. It began to swell. Life returned to me. But I was stretching out of my hamster shape. I was back to the shape of a boy. As I grew tall enough I grabbed the side of the aquarium and climbed over onto the desk. I continued to grow until I was back to my normal size. I hopped off the desk and knelt down to look through the glass. What effect had my example had. Had my death accomplished anything? I watched in overwhelmed happiness as the father and mother hamster gently picked up their babies and moved them into the shade. It had worked. My death had given life to my little creatures. And my example had changed the worldview of two little furry parents.

When did you stop believing my story? How much of it was true? I did raise hamsters when I was in year 7. I did cook a cage full of them in my window. But, I had to solve the problem in a different way. Every day I had to move the aquarium into the sun for an hour and then back to the shade. The parents didn’t understand. And I wasn’t able to become one of them to teach them, to die for them, to show them how much I loved them.

But Jesus did. He had that power. He became one of us. He, the God of the universe – our Creator – took on our broken form and allowed himself to be crucified so that we could live. This is foolishness. Foolishness to the world. But it is life to us who are being saved.

I would rather be a fool for Christ – praising his name, exposing my faith and inviting the world to him. I would rather be a fool for Christ, than the wisest man on this fireball waiting to happen. I choose life. I choose Jesus. What about you? Will you be a fool for Christ? Your story will be unbelievable. And people will tell you so. They will call you a fool and your story a pack of fairytales and lies. But, the more you tell it and the more the Holy Spirit works on the hearts of your listeners the more fruit you will see. People will come to Jesus. They will come out of the fiery future that awaits them without Christ and they will live. If…. If… If you are willing to be a fool for Christ.

Men Like Jesus

I recently wrote this while waiting for my kids to get out of school. I put it up on facebook and was amazed at the amount of conversation it generated. What are your thoughts?

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Do you know any men like Jesus?
He was never home (he said he didn't even have one). He was always out with his mates.
He had long chats with prostitutes and ignored his mother. He had so few personal boundaries that he had to pray when everyone else was asleep.
He chose the wrong crowd. When he needed them, his friends failed him. They fell asleep while he was crying and ran away when he was being beaten up.
Jesus fought and died for a cause only he understood.
Know any men like Jesus? Why not tell them you love them just the way they are? Jesus does — because he understands them. He's been there, done that.
Jesus is just one of the guys. Gotta love Him!

Telling in the Park

I recently went to preach in the lovely town of Echuca.

A couple of days before I came, one of the church elders called me with an idea.

"We've been letterboxing a commission housing area," he said. "There are lots of kids that play in the park situated in the middle of the houses. I know how much you love to tell stories. What would you think of telling stories to the kids in the park?"

I thought it was a great idea!

"How will you get the kids there at the right time?" I asked.

"We can make a flyer and letterbox the area the day before."

And they did.

These are the kids that showed up. We had great fun.

I told a few values-based stories and we had a few laughs.

I've always thought it would be fun to stop at random parks when kids are playing and put up a shingle - "Storyteller - 10 mins!" and see what happens.

Now I am more tempted!

If I could change the world (Mikey's year 6 speech for tomorrow)

I wonder what I would do if I could change the world. Would I stop world hunger, make world peace, or something different altogether? Well…I’d prefer to combine all three.

Most people think world peace is a great idea. I agree, but I like to take it up a notch.

So if I could change the world, this is what I would do:

Guns will turn into carrots as soon as they are fired.

Grenades turn into apples just before the explosion.

Bombs turn into watermelons just before impact.

This is just the first dish I’m thinking of serving.

The nuclear reactors in the USA would turn into giant tubes of tomato sauce.

All the Middle eastern tanks would turn to bread, that roll into circle bases.

The landmines in Pakistan would turn into jalapenos as soon as they are activated.

All the German air force would be in trouble, because as soon as the planes took off, they became anchovies.

Aussie Missile Jeeps would turn into pineapples and their missiles would turn into sausages.

The swords of the Japanese samurai would turn into long, juicy spears of capsicum.

All of the bricks on the military walls throughout the world would start turning into olives, making the walls collapse.

All of the Russian submarines would turn into fried chicken.

All remaining military supplies would be turned into shredded cheese to top it all off.

Think about that! Once all the weapons and military supplies were turned into food, no one in Africa would be starving anymore! And when there are no more weapons, the entire world is at peace! But that isn’t where my story ends…

Once everyone realizes what has happened, they will bring all the food bits to the middle-east and store them in large metal containers.

As I said earlier, Most people think world peace is a great idea. And yes, I do like to take it up a notch. Some of you may know what this was all leading up to, others won’t. But at the end of the day, the entire world would come together not only to make world peace, oh no, they would come together to make world pizza!

Thank you for listening to my speech and I hope you enjoyed it.

It's Only Me

Since meeting the serpent in the Garden, humanity has been prone to hiding in fear when God approaches. Is it our relative nakedness – both spiritual and emotional – that drives us away from His presence?

And yet, at every visit, God repeats, “Do not fear!” He said it to Abram, Sarah, Hagar, Isaac, Jacob… The list goes right through the Old Testament. Finally, at Jesus’ birth the angel choir bursts on stage with a mighty, “Fear not!”

When God or an angel enters human sight, the inevitable opening line is, "Do not be afraid." Why is this? Is it the brightness of the new arrival in comparison to the darkness on Earth? Is it the unexpected nature of the appearing? Is the human fear justified?

After Jesus’ mission on earth was finished and He stood ready to return to Heaven, His parting words were, "I am with you always." What happened between the "Do not be afraid" heralding Jesus' life on earth and His "I am with you always" farewell? How was it that He no longer needed to say, “Do not fear?” How did Jesus replace the fear of God’s appearance with longing for His presence?

Jesus was a beacon of God’s love. He revealed the true nature of God’s character to the world through His compassion for the broken and His desire to seek justice for the downtrodden. Jesus was God in humble human flesh. Children flock to Him and yet demons flee at His command. What manner of love is this?

To know Him is to love Him. To know who He is without desiring Him is to be truly terrified. The demons believe in Jesus and yet tremble because they do not desire a loving relationship with Him. Jesus revealed in relationship the joy of knowing God. Between His “Do not fear” entrance and His “I am with you always” exit, Jesus’ threw His arms open and embraced humanity – broken and fearful as it was – saying “It’s only me!”

Jesus, took his disciples well beyond their “faith pay grade” by walking on water in front of them. They panicked, screamed and looked for somewhere to hide. Jesus soothed his disciples saying, "Do not be afraid" ... "Its only me." what does this imply about His relationship with the disciples? They had become comfortable with Jesus’ human nature but when divinity peeked through He had to remind them who He was.

During our spiritual journey, we all experience things that take us beyond our “faith pay grade" which scares the "Do not be afraid" out of us. Just when we thought our relationship with God was fully embraced in the gentle arms of Jesus an new unexpected experience of faith shocks us. Something – a Bible verse, a youth rally, a sermon, a personal retreat, a prayer group – it can be anything. Something approaches us, walking on the water, and we hit the deck in fear and trembling. It is then that we need to know we are not alone.

When we Christians begin to speak to a nonbeliever about our faith, we often begin with a "Do not be afraid" statement or setting. A chat at a cafe. A conversation that uses "real life" stories. Our goal is to lead people from a "Do not be afraid" introduction to a joyful "I am with you always" experience. The temptation is to take them to the last page before they’ve read the book. A butterfly helped from its cocoon will never fly. The struggle develops strength and readiness for the next stage. Like Jesus, we need to stay close enough for them to know who we are through the entire journey.

It is only by maintaining a healthy and long-term friendship that we can get to the "it's only me" phase with our young-in-the-faith friends and family. When they have that spiritual experience that challenges their faith, how can our presence be a reassuring and comforting one? Our “it’s only me” will only calm them if we mean something to them.

The disciple-making journey is a gentle process of handing them over to Jesus. Our reassuring “it’s only me” is heard less and they begin to hear, “it’s only Jesus.” And when they hear that, when they hear “It’s only Jesus” and they relax – then we know we have done our job. They have Jesus and us for eternity. Then we can decrease while He increases. Our friend in the faith continues hand in hand with Jesus and we seek out another to whom we can say, “Do not be afraid.”

Be patient. Jesus took more than three years of daily relationship before He moved from "Do not be afraid" to "I am with you always." Surely there were many “it’s only me” moments before they relaxed into His presence.

Be patient. Be authentic. Be loving. And be present. Your example will speak volumes to those walking with you between "Do not be afraid" and "Jesus is with you always."

USA trip with Cyrus - Day 10 - Magical Kingdom

Today was our final day at Walt Disney World.

We spent the day at Magical Kingdom.

Amazingly, the lines were very short. We went on the best rides and never waited more than 15 minutes! So, we had done everything we wanted by 1pm and decided to do Space Mountain again. Then we bought gifts and headed home.

We began the day with a photo of Cyrus on Main Street.

The Jungle Cruise was our first ride, followed by Pirates of the Caribbean.

We both got drenched on Splash Mountain.
The front seat has it's privileges!

After Space Mountain (which was insane! Twice!) Cyrus spent some time in the arcade.
This is a tank simulator!

Podracer was a good game, too!

Tomorrow we are taking a day off!
We have walked and walked and walked - for four days!

USA trip with Cyrus - Day 9 - Hollywood Studios

Wow! What a fantastic day of great shows and fun rides!

Here's Cyrus at the beginning of the day with a living, growing version of lightening McQueen.

We took this one for Mikey!

Most of the rest of the day really has to be seen to be enjoyed.

So these shots are of some of the things that makes Disney so great.

Here is one of the many themed gardens.

Here is one of the many creative touches...
This was just on a post in a shop. There are funny things everywhere!

This one is for Rachael and Mikey.

It's those super-smart guys! Phineas and Herb!

Well, without question, the stunt show was the best part of the day !

These guys can drive!

USA trip with Cyrus - Day 8 - Epcot Center

Today, Cyrus and I explored Epcot Center. What a creative and crazy place!

Here is Cyrus infront of "Spaceship Earth".

SpaceShip Earth was a slow ride (inside the ball behind me) that explored communication between humans from cavemen to pre-mobile phone man. :)

I think it was made in the 80's...

Cyrus on a driving game.

Half of Epcot Center is a long walk from one nation to the next.

In each area there is architecture and food from that nation.

The final two pics are the pre-show (while in line) for Cryus' favourite ride of the day - Mission Space. We did the "Orange" level which the most intense option. The simulator creates G-forces and believable movements! I went to Mars... TWICE!

USA trip with Cyrus - Day 7 - Animal Kingdom

Today is the first of our four days at Walt Disney World.

We explored Animal Kingdom and had lots of fun doing so!

Right after entering the park, we discovered the tree of life.

So, I thought Cyrus should start the day with a pic.

The first ride we went on was called "Dinosaur" and is based loosely on the Disney movie from a few years ago called "Dinosaur." It was a very fun roller coaster Disney style. Lots of animatronic dinosaurs, smoke, mist, darkness, loudness, scary moments, and lots of fun!

Here is our pic at the end of the ride. Can you find us?

The tree of life, up close. Examine the trunk of the tree. It's cool!

Long necked thing.

Cyrus spies something worth exploring.

This was the best ride at Animal Kingdom - "Expedition Everest!"

Larry, Curly and Moe at the playground.

USA Storytelling trip with Cyrus - Day 4-5

Wow! What at experience!

For the past two days we have been shooting the six episodes of a storytelling workshop for the CSPS (Center for Secular and Post-modern Studies) aimed at those who work as preachers, teachers and volunteers in the Adventist Church.

On Wednesday and Thursday I arrived at the producers house at 8am and we drove to the shoot location where we took take after take until we had it perfect. I cannot wait to see it! I am so proud to have worked with such a team of professionals. Wednesday we finished at about 6pm. Thursday we finished at 8pm!

Both days, there was a lot of fine tuning that needed to be done. Being a new set, on the first day, the lighting and sound and angles and more all needed balancing and fine tuning. Then on the second day, the set was changed and required more fine tuning.

The stage backdrop was mirrors - 5 on the first day and 3 on the second. They create a stunning post-modern look, but are extremely difficult to film cleanly. Try to imagine all the lighting issues with lights hitting mirrors, each facing a little different direction. Then, imagine the reflections in each mirror - what will you see? You can't let light bounce from the hot stage lights into the camera. And you can't let cameras be seen by other cameras. The backdrop had to be completely blacked out and the cameras peeking through holes in the black sheets. It was a nightmare to setup, but an absolutely brilliant finished effect. I have never seen a group of

profectionists work together with such precision and patience! It was something to behold!

The first day we filmed the first half of each episode. The shows are divided into 10 minutes of storytelling and 10 minutes of teaching on storytelling. We filmed the first 10 minutes of all 6 shows on Day 1 - with the mirrors all standing on end.

Then, on the second day, for the teaching segments, we took out two mirrors and turned the middle one lengthways to function as a writing board. It created a very cool effect, but was VERY difficult to get perfect for the cameras. We didn't start the true film takes until after lunch - at about 2pm. It was amazing how, once everything was perfectly tuned and setup, we flew through the episodes. Basically, we did one episode an hour for the rest of the day.

In each of the teaching episodes we had new material on the board. This required a lot of time in writing and then darkening the text and illustrations until it was perfect for the cameras.

Sarah Asaftei, the Director, meticulously wrote each board full on notes before we shot the scene. They had asked me to do the writing as I taught, but I convinced them my handwriting would never be readable! Even kids complain! It wasn't until we started writing on the mirror that we realised how much work it actually was to get the writing to come up clear and bold. It took a fair bit of preptime!

There was also the sweat issue! You can see Nathan behind me with my "sweat dabbing towel" in his hand. The lights were very hot and I was cooking! Sarah had to reapply makeup often. On the second day, they found a very quiet fan that sat on the floor a couple metres in front of me and did an amazing job at cooling me off.

I have such as sense of accomplishment having been through the past two days. It was a lot of detail work (which I'm glad was other people's job!) and then me making sure I had my intro, conclusion and middle bits all ready so we could do the takes as cleanly and quickly as possible. More than half of the 12 segments were done in just one take. The others required fine tuning by the storyteller, too! What an adventure.

Now Cyrus' adventure begins. Today we drive to Orlando, Florida where we will explore the World of Walt Disney! Four days of fun-parks and learning exhibits. We are two very excited boys. But I bet you can guess who is most excited! He's just come out of the shower – my turn.

Then, we drive!

A Story like Tory

While spending some extra time in the Melbourne airport recently, I met a lovely four-year-old girl named Tory. Tory was with her Mum, Dad and older brother. Tory was talkative, playful and very happy. She absolutely radiated self-confidence and a love for life.

I spent quite awhile talking to Tory, her brother and parents and I saw the way they treated their children. It wasn't hard to notice this couple really enjoyed their kids. Tory's parents didn't treat her any differently than they treated her brother. The kids interacted freely in our conversation and laughed at our banter. They were just normal kids. But, to everyone who walked by, Tory was the centre of attention. She was anything but 'normal'. People stared and smiled. Some people stopped and talked - to Tory, or about Tory to her parents.

Finally, as we boarded the plane to LAX, I noticed Tory and her parents boarding with us - in the cattle cars - long after the first class, business class, premium economy, etc. They could have boarded first - when the announcer always calls, "Any parents with young children or those in need of assistance or extra time to board, please come forward first." But they didn't.

Tory's parents are telling her a powerful story about herself. They are teaching Tory that she is just like everyone else. Yes, she is a dwarf. Yes, she moves slower and is a lot smaller than everyone else. And yes, she is cute beyond belief. But, Tory's parents treat her like a normal kid. And, having spent a few hours observing her, she is just that - a super awesome normal kid!

The story we live in front of our children and the children around us tells them the truth of our lives and theirs. If we see and say the positive stories in life, our kids will see the world as a positive place where they can interact and make a difference.

If, on the other hand, we constantly comment on the negative state of the world, the problem with the neighbours, the unfair hand we've been dealt - our children will learn to be critical and afraid. This is a great way to ensure our children grow up to be judgmental and self-centred. They will see others as dangerous and suspicious rather than unique and beautiful. In our words, our actions and our attitudes toward others – whether they are different in faith, culture or lifestyle – our children are watching us and they are becoming like us.

As family-centred leaders, we need to send positive messages to parents and kids. Tell stories that empower rather than impede. There are so many positive messages that raise people up. In our mentoring of teachers, parents and kids we should be seen to be encouraging positive action rather than discouraging negative action.

Teaching kids to be judgmental of others, or at least wary, strengthens the attitude of "us and them". We need to be drawing all men, women and children toward Love. This "drawing toward" comes from the same core leadership desire as "drawing away" but looks, sounds and feels very different. And it most definitely creates different kinds of children and thus a different kind of world.

We are all like Tory - we are all beautifully unique. And we need to tell ourselves that. And tell our children that. The stories we tell, both verbally and with our lives, will either empower the next Generation or limit them. Don't repeat bad news. Tell good stories. Live with joy and passion. Smile.

Keep changing the world - one story at a time.

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For more parenting pondering,

see the "Parently" section of this blog.