As far as how it all relates to my own growth…oh my, how much time do you have? For me as I relate to my kids and share with them what I believe about God I engage the principles myself in a new way. Sometimes that means I find a different nuance or application in my life and sometimes I see where my thinking may be flawed.

The other big thing that I find happens is that as I reflect on my conversations with my children or as I chew over them with God at a later time, I find that I am often convicted of who I ’should’ be in terms of representing Jesus to my children. A better way of saying it might be by giving an example – for instance, as I was driving and talking to God about some things, I was asking God to really make himself known to my daughter in a certain area and I had one of those striking light bulb moments – this one saying ‘thats what you are there for! I’m making myself known through you!’ – a reminder that we ARE (should be in some way) representations of Christ. Its an ‘aha moment’ ya know? I think most people ‘know’ that, but in terms of real life, how often do people ask God to step in or show someone something….

In my life, I have these little aha moments most often through parenting. I believe its a connection, for me, of the whole imagery of God as ‘parent’ (father).

Anyway, for me, acknowledging these aha moments results in some transformation in me, no matter how small.