Tell Them Why.

Tell your kids why they are special.  When I studied Hebrew verbs in Seminary I learned about the Piel stem of a word is usually used to intensify the verb, and one possibility that comes up is to declare something about something, like for the verb to be holy, the Piel stem can be to declare that something is holy.  Also for the verb to be righteous, the Piel stem of the verb can be to declare that someone is righteous.  The priest that walks in and finds no yucky stuff in the house or the body, declares it clean.  As I thought about this I thought about my own children and what I speak into their lives as their father.  I have heard many people say that their father or mother said something that they carried with them all their life.  Oftentimes this is something horrid, like “You are stupid.” 

So here is my idea.  I take my son or my daughter and I say something like this: “My son/daughter, I want to talk to you about something very important.  What I am about to tell you I want you to remember it for the rest of your life.  I want to share with you one of the reasons that you are special and wonderful and great.  There are many reasons why you are special and fantastic and terrific, but right now I want to share with you just one reason.  Are you ready to hear that reason?  (Yes.)  You are special; you are amazing; you are phenomenal. . . because I say you are.”  This is one way I speak value into my child’s life.