Day 90- A Driving First

Hannah Grace has asked me if she could drive lately. I've let her and Joel drive home from church while sitting on my lap at times (relax, it's like 150 yards).  Lately she's said she's too big for that (this is where you can silently weep copious tears of grief for me).  Today when I drove in the driveway from visiting some church folks Hannah Grace was riding her scooter in the driveway. I was thinking about a "first." So, for my "first" I gave Hannah Grace her first driving lesson.

She was far more excited about this than I was.  We did not drive on the road.  We drove from our house across a field to the church parking lot.  There she could drive around and even practice parking.  She did very well for her first try. I was surprised that she was as smooth with the gas and brake as she was.  I was very glad she was very cautioius and listened to my instructions carefully. It was a very exciting day for her. She kept saying how fun it was.  I managed a weak smile; happy for her but sad to see her growing up. 

First things first, let's make sure we look good! I did not have to tell her to do that.

Happy driver

Yay!! I'm driving!

Nice park Hannah Grace

For Hannah Grace to learn how to drive, she has to actually put her hands on the steering wheel, put the car in drive, and go.  I gave her some basic instructions before we started.  Put your foot on the brake before you put the car in gear.  Let off the brake very slowly.  Don't touch the accelerator until you feel comfortable with steering the car with just your foot off of the brake and not on the accelerator.  If you get scared, just mash the brake.  Those kinds of instructions seemed to be necessary to me.  You can learn some of this in a book and you can tell someone the basics of driving.  If you want to learn how, you have to get behind the wheel (preferably in a safe place) and drive.

I think this is the place many people miss it in the Christian life. It's not all just about learning from a book or a teaching. There is a place for that.  But to really learn how to follow Jesus, you have to get out there and follow.  If you want to learn how to pray, you need to kneel down and pray.  You can read a book on prayer and some of those are very helpful. You can listen to a sermon on prayer and that can be beneficial.  The best way to learn to pray is by praying. Praying with a mature Christian or two can be very advantageous.  If you want to learn to share your faith, you can learn some basic things from a book.  You can benefit from a sermon. You'll never really learn to share your faith until you talk to someone about Jesus. We learn by doing (as in what Jesus commanded) not simply listening.

Obeying for the abundant life
Barry

3 things I thank God for today
1. The biography of A.W. Tozer
2. Charlie Jones
3. Ricky Start (2 guys that help me to "do" the basics of following Jesus)