Experiencing God at Home by Richard Blackaby, Tom Blackaby Read Free Book Online Page A

blissfully sleep through the night; others are night owls. Some kids are hyper; others are calm. Some are loud; others are quiet. Some are girls; others are boys. Our first two children were boys. They did what boys do: played hard and loud. Our friends, whose children were angelic girls, thought our offspring were barbaric! You don’t get to choose your children; you only get to choose your response to them!
    Mike
    We named our first child Mike (well, actually Michael, but he changed it to Mike as soon as he could). Mike’s entry into the world did not go smoothly. He went into distress after Lisa underwent twelve hours of labor. After an emergency C-section, Mike entered the scene. Mike was good-natured from the beginning. He was a social animal with a vivid imagination. School provided some challenges since unless he was bound with duct tape to his desk, Mike could not remain seated for more than a few seconds at a time. This brought him to the attention of his teachers on a regular basis. Let’s just say Mike never heard of the “Honor Roll” during his academic career! As Mike grew older, he tried his hand at various endeavors. He played some sports: soccer and in-line hockey. We tried to introduce him to music even though Lisa and I combined could not come up with one musical bone in our bodies. He took piano and clarinet but finally found his passion: drums (sorry next-door neighbors). Mike had his struggles, just like every child. As a teenager, he commenced a quest to become “cool.” He changed how he dressed, dyed his hair several different colors (some at the same time), got a piercing or two, and formed a rock band. At age eighteen he was also diagnosed with Type 1 diabetes.
    Today, as I write this, Mike is twenty-seven. He finished college, earned a master’s degree from seminary, and is currently working on a PhD in Apologetics. He is the college/single adult minister at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro, Georgia, and has written a book with his younger brother, Daniel, entitled When Worlds Collide: Stepping Up and Standing Out in an Anti-God Culture . He is also engaged to a charming young lady named Sarah. He’s working on his third book and has developed into an awesome public speaker.
    Daniel
    Our second child, Daniel, has always chosen his own unique path through life. He was born a month premature, but that is the only thing he ever did early! He is a laid-back child with a fertile imagination and a stubborn streak a mile wide! Daniel ran into some major challenges during middle school. He suffered from a severe sleep disorder that eventually made it impossible for him to continue attending school. We homeschooled him in order to help him sleep as much as possible. He later struggled to know what to do after he graduated from high school, which led to a year of international travel and mission work. Daniel is a brilliant child who struggles at times to put that creative mind to work when he lacks sufficient motivation. That led to his unfortunate propensity to skip classes and to put off doing his homework until the last minute (or Jesus’ second coming, whichever came first). Daniel loves music and can play almost any instrument you find in a typical church worship band. He excelled in playing hockey and loves to follow sports. He is also an English nerd and takes great delight in reading Russian classic novels. (Like I said, he hasn’t had it easy.)
    Along with Daniel’s sleep-disorder issues, he suffered various challenges while growing up. He was pulled from two different schools because of his health. Like his older brother, Daniel had to “find himself” as a teenager. During that season of life, he grew his hair long (giving Rapunzel a run for her money), he tried a few piercings, and played in his brother’s rock band.
    Despite facing health issues as well as moving to a different country halfway through college, Daniel completed university. He is completing a master’s degree at