Category Archives: Conversations with Yosi

The sun is a mass of incandescent gas

Posted on February 2, 2012 by

“Daddy, is the sun hotter than the oven?” Yes, it’s much hotter than the oven. “Is the sun hotter than the microwave?” It’s way hotter than the microwave. “Is the sun hotter than Mommy?” I…well…huh. Not all difficult questions are hard to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Education, Parenting | 3 Comments

Little Ladies Growing Up

Posted on January 10, 2012 by

My daughter watched Little Women for the first time last month, and loved it, but it messed with her. You see, Beth dies. Little Women tells the story of the March family of Concord, Massachusetts, during and after the Civil War. … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Movies, Parenting, Pop Culture, Training Up a Child | 2 Comments

True story

Posted on November 2, 2011 by

Did I cry when I was a really little girl? It’s a simple enough question. Her own baby tears are a truth she’s heard only second hand. She doesn’t remember them. Yes, you cried a lot when we first met you. You … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Parenting | 12 Comments

A preschooler discovers the problem of pain

Posted on August 9, 2011 by

“Why did God make pain?” I was lying on the floor in the playroom while Yosi, almost four, steadfastly refused to eat her lunch. She was holding her knee, which she claimed was hurting. Spontaneously, unprovoked, she voiced the question human beings have … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Faith, Parenting, Theology, Training Up a Child | 2 Comments

Fathers

Posted on June 15, 2011 by

A few nights ago I was getting Yosi ready for bed when she told me, You know, Daddy, you’re a child too. We’re all children of Jesus. We’re both children. There’s a chance she was saying this to avoid having to … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Extended Family, Faith, Parenting, Theology, Training Up a Child | 9 Comments

Snow White and the God Who Loved Goliath Too

Posted on May 11, 2011 by

The mean old witch meant to eat the boy until Gretel shoved her into the roaring fireplace, and the evil Queen tried to kill Snow White but fell dead at her rival’s wedding. And so rather than the Old Testament being … Continue reading →

Posted in Books, Conversations with Yosi, Faith, Parenting, Pop Culture, The Bible, Theology, Training Up a Child | Tagged , , , , , , , , | 8 Comments

My Apparent Failure to Keep My Preschooler from Becoming a Fundamentalist

Posted on March 16, 2011 by

On Monday I had this conversation with my three year old daughter while riding in the car: Her: “Dad, is Virginia a long way away?” Me: “Yes, it is.” “Is it another country?” “No, just another state.” “Nope, it’s another … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Parenting, Training Up a Child | Tagged , , , , , , , | 17 Comments

The Time I Tried to Explain Euthanasia to a Kid Who Can’t Even Read Yet

Posted on March 9, 2011 by

We were talking about Jesus, about the crucifixion, about death and burial. My three year old daughter and I were in her bed reading a Bible story before she went to sleep. She was asking questions I didn’t really know how … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Education, Parenting, Training Up a Child | Tagged , , , , , , , | 26 Comments

Her voice is neither still nor small

Posted on January 12, 2011 by

Sunday, before church, I made a sincere effort to spend some time in Bible reading and prayer. I made it about halfway through the first sentence of the Book of Common Prayer’s collect for that day before my daughter started asking … Continue reading →

Posted in Adventures in Parenting, Conversations with Yosi, Faith, Parenting, The Bible | Tagged , , , , | 4 Comments

China

Posted on September 13, 2010 by

  Parenting is really something. What follows is an actual conversation I had with my three year old daughter a few months ago before bed. I was putting her diaper on for the night, and, like any good toddler, she … Continue reading →

Posted in Conversations with Yosi, Parenting | Tagged , | 4 Comments