We saw so much growth and change over the last year.  He was barely walking at his first birthday and now he is hitting rocket shots off of his baseball tee and I think he might be the next Tiger Woods judging by the way he can hit a golf ball.  While he is already quite the athlete and loves to spend time at the ball park, he also loves tractors (especially when his Papa drives him around) and getting outside to play and run.  But you can see from the picture that his first true love are the Tigers!

So, Cole, I hope you have an awesome birthday today.  I’m looking forward to our fun night tonight at dinner and playing with your new toys and reading the new books Mommy and I bought you.  I’m so proud of you already!

We love you!

It was a cool night of bonding.  Obviously, Cole isn’t talking…in English, but he does communicate.  Mainly, he was telling me not to quit feeding those rolls and french fries to him, and he liked the baked potato soup a little.

Then we took off to pick up a birthday present for my dad, Cole’s Papa, at Dicks Sporting Goods.  Cole loves that place.  I guess it’s all the equipment and the bright colors.

But my favorite part of the night was putting him to bed.  Not only does it free me up to read and write, but it is also a time when his mind isn’t running a million miles an hour.  He slows down and just enjoys being in your arms.  He sipped some milk, but mainly just laid in my arms until he went to sleep.  I cherish the times I get to stop and be with him.  It freaks me out to think that he is already 13 months old and not slowing down.  He is growing so fast and learning so much.  I’m learning a lot too.

I have so much fun seeing him experience and learn new things every day. It is really cool to see him remember all of the things he finds so interesting and funny.

It is an amazing miracle…how am I so lucky?

Back to the story. As I was talking to this prospective client, she was telling me about her husbands unfaithfulness, how they had not had a loving marriage, the effect it was having on their four year old son, the fact that since their son was born they had not had sex and the husband has spent most of the time on the road (allegedly to make more money for the family). As we got a little deeper, I found out that the dad’s parents were divorced when the dad was the same age as his child is now.

I could only feel sorrow for their child. What kind of example are they setting for him? They are setting him up to be just like his dad and grandfather because the boy’s actual father is not showing him how to love a woman, but rather he is teaching the son how to do what feels good now.

The Bible tells us that the future generations will pay for the sins of this generation. Basically, our children will reap what we sow. The Bible tells us in Numbers 13-14 that God told Moses to send out 12 scouts to check out Canaan, the promised land. They receive a report from ten of their scouts who tell them that the “promised land” is going to be impossible for them to obtain. That there are giants, the cities are well fortified and there is no way they can defeat them. The people of Israel were grumbling and talking bad about Moses and Aaron. They forgot all of the things that God had done for them in taking them out of slavery in Egypt and it really ticked God off. So he punished the people of Israel.

In Numbers 14: 29-32, the Bible reports:

In this desert your bodies will fall—every one of you twenty years old or more who was counted in the census and who has grumbled against me. Not one of you will enter the land I swore with uplifted hand to make your home, except Caleb son of Jephunneh and Joshua son of Nun. As for your children that you said would be taken as plunder, I will bring them in to enjoy the land you have rejected. But you—your bodies will fall in this desert.

Finally, on point with this post, God punished the younger generation of the Israelites, the children for the sin of their parents stating, Your children will be shepherds here for forty years, suffering for your unfaithfulness, until the last of your bodies lies in the desert (Numbers 14: 33).

I guess this is more of a warning than anything else – especially if you have children. You are no longer living for yourself. You are not the only one who reaps the benefits and consequences of your actions. You are leaving a legacy for the future generation and you have the ability to cause shame, pain and punishment on your future generations without having any intent to do so. Choose to set a good example. Choose to be a leader for your child. Show them how to love God and then love their spouse. Show them how to be financially responsible and how to work hard.