Unlucky Shark Teeth and Proper Burial Procedures

My oldest son Cameron was told by a friend at school that he got some money from the tooth fairy not only for his own teeth but for shark teeth as well. This morning Cam came out in his boxers and said to me "Dad, you don't get money for shark teeth" (with the little shark tooth in his hand).
I usually have a moral to the story but I don't want to be prophetic with this one. And since it's just a story, and not scripture, you can come up with your own interpretation.

I have to tell you what he did yesterday too. We were out in the yard and I heard some commotion coming from the side of the house. I walked over to see the kids hovered over a dead bird. Cam then, being the oldest and wisest of the group, took it upon himself to give the bird a proper burial. It was nothing more than the bird being picked up by a hand shovel and placed on top of the dirt with handfuls of dirt on top of it. It was somewhat of an Indian Burial but I thought it was pretty cool - and somewhat symbolic... just kidding.
Ok I will add a story on to the end of this one... Sometimes as a dad it is really easy to be impatient with your kids. It is at times like these that God shows us the redeemable qualities in our children and that they are indeed created in the image of Himself.

Accidental Perfection

I was riding home today from work listening to some music on shuffle. I like to be surprised when I'm listening to my ipod with a song I forgot I even had. Anyway... there were four songs straight in a row that there was this perfect playlist. All of the songs were in the same key and went from one emotion to the next without diverting. You call it coincidence - I call it accidental perfection.

More Listen Less Talk

I was reading a devotional today put out by Purpose Driven Life. It was a good article but what really stuck out to me was reading Romans 14 along with the last paragragh. Here is what they have:

"Learn to listen - Listening means more than just hearing someone talk; it means carefully considering what the other person is saying and actively trying to understand his or her point of view. The Bible says, "Listen before you answer. If you don't, you are being stupid and insulting." (Proverbs 18:13 TEV) That's pretty clear! It means we shouldn't evaluate what someone has done or said until we've heard the full story. God gave us two ears and one mouth, perhaps to tell us we should listen twice as much as we talk. Ha!"

I am concerned with this thought of adding my own offense in reaching out to others who I am trying to reach for Christ. We tend have a set system of answers for how we are to respond to someone who believes differently than we do. It is always good and very necessary that we listen (which implies a relationship with someone that gives you permission to speak the truth in love into their life) a lot... before we prescribe.