It’s time for 4-1-1. Is it phone directory assistance? Or maybe the code number for a secret agent? Today on Home School Heartbeat, Andy Fletcher joins host Mike Smith with an idea for dads.
Mike Smith: Andy, as your sons have gotten older, you developed a great way to make intentional time with them and also including other children with that. Would you tell us about that?
Andy Fletcher: I’ve heard a lot of advice over the years—I’ve boiled that down to one basic principle and that’s “be intentional.” And the older my kids and especially my older boys have become, the more intentional I need to be with them, and I’ve seen that engagement with these older boys sometimes doesn’t even begin until 10 o’clock at night. So just being available helps. I think also as homeschoolers we’re always balancing that edge of pride, and we’ve made a bold statement that says “hey, we’re going to do this education thing on our own” —we plant the flag that says “we know what’s best for our kids’ education.” I’m convinced that men and women, friends of mine, pastors, youth pastors can become some of those outside influences in my kids’ life, and I’ve seen over and over again how they’ve walked alongside my kids, loved them and spoken truth into their lives, and I’m not threatened by that, and I love that God has chosen to use other voices at just the right time to communicate the truth to my kids.
Mike: Well, thanks for sharing this great idea with our listeners today, Andy! We’ll talk more about discipling sons on our next program. And, until then, I’m Mike Smith.
