I am only 11-months into being a parent. Already my little girl is teaching me many things about God:

1. Giving up rights of sleep and other freedoms are just temporary sacrifices but big opportunities to invest in a new life.

Parenting is a temporary stewardship, which I think also means a temporary loss of sleep. I remember the first few days when we brought her home from the hospital and she would cry through the night. Sarah and I would take turns rocking her to sleep. In those frustrating moments God would remind me how dependent and needy I was, just like my little balling baby girl.

2. The work does not end when I get home from the office, it just begins.

The most important work is when I get home with my family. I do not have the right to take it easy or have a break. Passive homes lead to passive kids.

3. It is a joy to watch my wife morph into a mom.

She is becoming the most beautiful mom in the world. I love watching her teach, sing, and disciple one daughter, who now thinks she’s cool with her new tooth.

“Only take care, and keep your soul diligently, lest you forget the things that your eyes have seen, and lest they depart from your heart all the days of your life. Make them known to your children and your children’s children–how on the day that you stood before the LORD your God at Horeb, the LORD said to me, ‘Gather the people to me, that I may let them hear my words, so that they may learn to fear me all the days that they live on the earth, and that they may teach their children so.’” – Deuteronomy 4:9-10