Who Are You, Really?

In May, our older son, Cody, secured a summer internship with a construction company in Houston—Jamail & Smith—which will help him in his current degree field at Texas A&M.  He’s in the University Studies Program in the College of Architecture that allows you to tailor a degree to your interests, so he’ll focus on construction project management; and the program will take the coursework he has already completed toward Hotel & Hospitality Management.

When Cody mentioned he would live at home for the summer, he asked if we could complete a Bible Study together. Since our younger son, Tanner, is entering his senior year of high school, I thought the three of us should focus on a Bible Study about identity.  Cody is always asked, “What do you plan to do after college?”  Tanner is consistently asked, “What will be your college major?”  It’s easy for our identity to get wrapped up in those things.

We found a study by the Kendrick Brothers called Defined: Who God Says You Are, which focuses on understanding and embracing one’s identity from a Christian perspective. The authors, Stephen and Alex Kendrick, explore how knowing one’s identity in Christ can profoundly impact various aspects of life. In fact, the book formed the basis of their movie Overcomer.

The three of us worked through this 8-week study this summer, which was enriching for all of us.

Click here for a summary of the Defined study and what I learned from it

The Five Love Languages of Children

About 20 years ago, I picked up Gary Chapman’s book The Five Love Languages of Children (his original concept was aimed at marriage relationships; and he later adapted it to work relationships with The Five Languages of Appreciation in the Workplace).  It was a very helpful resource, as we considered the different ways to show love to our daughter (4 year-old Katy) and son (2 year-old Cody).

Mothers are especially attuned to showing love to their children, and Jennifer has always been very good at loving each of our kids individually.

As Chapman puts it, “Of all the ways we can miscommunicate our intentions, perhaps the way that has the greatest potential for harm is to not properly communicate our love to our children.”

Chapman’s co-author, Dr. Ross Campbell, said, “The emphasis I particularly liked in Gary’s book was that each of us has a primary love language.  There are wonderful applications of this for children, because each child has his or her own way of giving and receiving love.”

Click here to learn The Five Love Languages of Children