Teachable Moments that REALLY Matter

So, last night Dane told me he would need me and the kids to be finished with our exploration Wednesday by noon for him to use the car. Since our unit this week is on the sun and the moon, I quickly yanked the kids out of bed and dragged them outside (okay, I wasn't really that rough about it) to look at the gorgeous, bright full moon over our house. Then I told them we would be getting up early and going somewhere special to watch the sunrise. I was so excited myself, I could barely sleep. I just knew it was going to be a special day. I was right. We woke up at 6:30, got some apples and coffee together and some woobies, and drove to Watson Lake. We got there just in time to scramble up onto a huge granite boulder, cuddle up under the down woobies and watch the sun peek over the horizon. As it rose I talked to the kids about Lamentations 3:22-23, "Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." I told them that if there was ever a time in their lives that they realized they weren't close to God, or thought they had done something God wouldn't forgive, or just wanted to somehow draw closer to God, I wanted them to wake up early like this and watch the sun rise. That every time they watch the sun rise it will remind them that today is a brand new day. Every day is a new chance to start all over. Every morning God's mercy is perfectly new. Fresh. Not two week old leftovers out of the fridge, but brand spanking new mercy that doesn't remember the past, but tells us "I forgive you. Just go forward and don't look back." We sang that little chorus that I learned when I first became a Christian - "The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases/ his mercies never come to an end/ they are new every morning/ new every morning/ great is thy faithfulness, O God/ Great is thy faithfulness" Then we got to just climb around on the awesome granite dells and explore for a few hours, which was super duper fun. It was by far one of the most meaningful times I ever spent with my kids, and I know it touched them too, because the rest of our day was filled with supernatural peace - which is HUGE when you have three young children! Just before bed time Huyler told me "Mom, I had a really good day." My heart wanted to just over flow. I hope they remember it, because without that fresh mercy every day, I would be totally lost in life.