De-Bunked!!!

John and I are reading Wild Things - the art of nurturing boys. This is a GREAT resource for parents with boys. It is not a parenting technique so much as an insight to the mind and heart of a boy in order to help you parent them better. Love it!!! Anyway one of the things that they talk about is bedtime with boys is PRIME time for vulnerability. Something about being tired and being in the dark (side to side rather than face to face) makes a great catylyst for boys to open up. Once John read this he decided that he wanted to start spending extra time at night lying down with each boy. This posed a problem since we have bunk beds and he didn't feel comfortable climbing up in the top bunk with Jake. So after a few nights of trying to switch them out - Jake in top bunk one night, Brady the next - didn't fly with the boys because they want to be in their own beds with their endless animals, John decided to debunk the beds for a while. Now remember this is small quarters we live in so I was a little worried about space. The very first night's conversation with Jake made all the work worth it. John has had a bedtime routine with the boys already - singing, reading, and praying together so he just added laying down with them. When he got in the bed and laid down with Jake the following conversation took place after they prayed together:
Jake: Daddy sometimes when I pray to God I don't know the words to say to tell God what I want him to know. I wish I could pray like you and mommy pray.

John: Bud that is ok because God knows what you are thinking before you ever speak a word out loud. Our praying to God is for us not for Him because He already knows what we are thinking.

Jake: (with great excitment) you mean that God knows what I am thinking before I say it - that He knows what everyone is thinking before they say it???

John: That is right so it's ok if you don't know the words just tell God you don't know the words.

Jake :THAT'S AWESOME DADDY!!!

That 5 extra minutes was such a great blessing to us and Jake - His view of our Great God expanded drastically!!!