Shining Examples: August 2013

This past year Connor and I went through "Experiencing God" together. One of the things that struck Connor and I was the picture that God is always moving, He always has a plan and we need to move to where He is moving. So often we hear, "Well, you should wait until God shows you where you are to go." and while that may be true in some cases, Connor and I were convicted that sometimes we just need to get on God's moving sidewalk. God is already moving, He already has a plan and sometimes we just need to start walking in whatever direction God seems to moving towards. It is far easier to steer someone who is moving than to steer someone who is at a complete stand still. Since Connor was a baby we have told him Jeremiah 29:11,
"For I know the plans I have for you," declares the LORD, "plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.""

And sometimes following God's plan for our lives require us to make a move trusting that God will stop us or direct us differently if we are going in a way contrary to His plan.

We have always wanted our kids to be excited and challenged by the plans that God has for them. We have told them Isaiah 32:8, " But the noble make noble plans, and by noble deeds they stand." We have told them that they can do the hard things, they should strive for the impossible, they can change the world for the better, for God says that all things are possible through him. We have tried to prepare them spiritually and academically. We have asked them to be excellent in whatever they do because we want them to be prepared for when God's plans start moving them.

I always thought this was to prepare them for college and beyond. You know, for when they aren't kids. To properly prepare them for when they are adults. You know, many years from now. Not now. For the future, very distant future. You know, for when I was ready, umm, I mean when THEY were ready.

Apparently, God had other plans, good plans.

God's sidewalk started moving for Connor this spring and it was moving fast. Through out the past 5 or 6 years, we have noticed that one of Connor's passion has been for programming. We have done the best we can to help him follow that passion through coaching First Lego League teams to catering his education to buying even his birthday and Christmas presents in mind of his interests. Connor started learning programming through a program called, Scratch, through MIT. http://scratch.mit.edu/ Through the years, he has become a Curator, then a BETA tester and has become known to the creators of Scratch. He met the creators of Scratch this spring in Denver and they gave him a challenge to find a way to use Scratch and SNAP! to control hardware, like the LEGO NXT, WII Remotes, Leap Motion, and others. Connor managed to do that and was asked to speak at an International Scratch Convention in Barcelona, Spain. He worked really hard to prepare 4 different talks to Computer Science Educators around the world. He had some ups and some downs but more than anything he showed who he was and what he was capable of.

Connor and I talked a lot this spring and summer about choosing to get on God's moving sidewalk. We didn't choose the time frame but we firmly believe that God did. Connor willingly choose to take the very brave step of following God's lead and then working very hard to do it well.

More than anything else, I am so proud that Connor was willing to put himself on the line to do something extraordinary but scary. To be willing to be open to failure but trusting that God would not let him fall. To be willing to step on to God's moving sidewalk even though he didn't know where it would end.

I can't wait to see what God has planned for my boy but in the mean time, I am going to ask him to work hard and achieve more than he thinks he can because who knows what God will ask of him next.

Click to see one of Connor's Projects
Click to see one of Connor's presentations.