She's Listening!

Every time I get Kendall from either school or church, I ask her about her day or her time in class. Sometimes she is very talkative and tells me a lot about what she did, but sometimes she says "Mom, I don't want to kalk about it." And that's fine - I don't want to force her to talk and I understand not being in the mood to talk. Lately though, she has been really good about being able to tell me details from the Bible stories she is learning at both church and school. I love how she tells me and I wanted to make sure I wrote them down.

On Tuesdays, she goes to chapel at school and Mrs. Wendy tells them a Bible story in a creative, kid-friendly way. So when I picked her up from school the other day, and it was a Tuesday, I asked her what she learned about in chapel. She seemed to want to tell me, but she said, "Mom, I can't say it. Help me." I told her that I would help her tell the story, but that I didn't even know where to begin because I wasn't sure at all what she learned that day. I asked her to tell me what happened, but she just said, "I can't say it!" She seemed frustrated, so I tried suggesting some stories that she might have learned, but never could figure it out. That afternoon, after nap, we were watching Robin Hood. The sheriff walked down the street, and she said, "Mom. He is the bad guy. He is taking the money. Mom! At school, there was a bad guy and he taked the money!!" It was like all of the sudden a lightbulb went off and triggered her memory about what she learned that morning in chapel! I said, "Oh yeah? Was he a little man?" She told me yes, and then began telling me the story of Zacchaeus. Here are her words:
"Mom, he was a little man and he took everybody's money. Then Jesus came and he wanted to see him, but there was lots of people. So he climbed up a tree and Jesus said Zacchaeus you come down! For I'm going to your house today (singing). And then he gave all the money back and Jesus was happy!"
We sang the song together and talked about why Zacchaeus did that and how Jesus loved him. She was so proud of herself that she remembered the story. I told her that Daddy and I love it when she can tell us what she learned because that means she is listening to her teacher at school.

Last Sunday, after church, I asked her what she learned about in her class. This time, she said she didn't want to "kalk" about it. We kept driving home, and when we pulled onto our street and saw our house, she said, "Mom! At church we talked about our neighbors! And I said, my neighbor is Frannie." Again, it was like she saw Frannie's house and it reminded her about what she learned about. I love how I can just see her little brain working like that. I said, "You did? What did you learn about your neighbors?" She told me that they learned that they need to take care of their neighbors and love them. I asked her how we can show our neighbors that we love them and she said, "We can hug them, we can take care of them, and we can bring them food." When we got inside, she layed down on the floor and said, "Mom, there was a man laying on the ground like this. And then a man walked by and he didn't help, but then another man walked by and he put him on his horse and took him to the doctor." We talked all about the Good Samaritan and how Jesus wants us to love others and take care of them. So sweet!

We love talking to Kendall about the Bible and teaching her these foundational stories of our faith. As much as we can, we remind her that these stories came from the Bible and that that means they are true. I love that she not only hears those truths at home, but that she hears them from other people at church and at school. She is learning so much right now and soaking up everything she hears and this time is just so special to us!!