Thursday, November 21, 2013

Raising Kids for True Greatness by Dr. Tim Kimmel

Since I spend over 30 hours a week with kids, teaching and training them, I decided it would be a good idea to read a parenting book.

Dr. Kimmel compares and contrasts the world's striving for success with God's intentions for greatness.

The 'conversation' Dr. Kimmel and I had through a chunk of the book went something like this:

Dr. Kimmel- It's a process, not a moment
Me- well, that makes sense. Most things in life are, afterall.
Dr. Kimmel- Do you want to know the five attributes of great people?
Me- of course.
Dr. Kimmel- the first is humility.
Me- sounds good!
Dr. Kimmel- another one is gratefulness.
Me- Ooo, that's a good one.
Dr. Kimmel- generosity is also important.
Me- yeah!
Dr. Kimmel- and the one that sums them all up?
Me- well, what is it??
Dr. Kimmel- a servant attitude.
Me- wow, bulls eye! I can already see how these character traits are important and would change lives.
Dr. Kimmel- well, now do you want to know how to raise kids up to embody these traits?
Me- of course!
Dr. Kimmel- model them.
Me- wait-- what??
Dr. Kimmel- I'm serious. Not only those, but also abundant-thinking, being others-oriented, trustworthy, tenacious, courageous and compassionate.
Me- oh dear.
Dr. Kimmel- and the things that wrap them all up nicely are grace and love.
Me- oh, that's all?

And you know what, reader? It makes sense, doesn't it?

Everything starts with how you yourself live life. And although I don't have much of a plan for how to train my students, I know where to start:

With myself.

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