a 'yes' home

Keri and I took a parenting class at our church called, "The Parent Adventure: Preparing Your Kids for a Life with God". One week we focused on creating a yes home for our kids. Here's a quote from the book:

God has planted gifts in your children. You have the privilege of igniting those gifts through a yes environment. By saying yes to your children when you can, you value their creativity, raise their confidence, and encourage them to explore the passions God has placed in them to carry out the plans He has for their lives.

It's so easy to say no to the small things because we are afraid of the mess, or we don't want to be inconvenienced, or we're embarrassed. But what freedom it gives kids when we say yes. They begin to come up with amazing ideas and aren't afraid to share their ideas or feelings. And we get to stop and see what beautiful, creative, fun children they are!

This is something we've been working on in our home recently and here's a little photographic evidence of that we're making great strides! They may seem like small things, but honestly they are things we would have said no to a few months ago. There is nothing wrong with these new things, they just aren't exactly what Keri and I would choose to do. But our kids aren't us and they have their own brilliant ideas. And God made them beautifully and wonderfully. I'm so glad we learned this lesson and have seen our kids (and ourselves) grow in the process.