Amy and I have four boys.

Our home is filled with rough-housing, noise, smell, and a ton of food. Our boys are extremely active. They all play sports. We shuttle them back-and-forth from sports, swimming, and playdates.

Yet somehow, when they return home, they still have energy to burn. We encourage (hear “tell”) them to go outside and play. Three of our boys happily will run outside and burn off their energy.

Ezra’s Response

Our middle child, however, loves to read. Day or night, he reads. Even when we encourage him to make his way outside, he chooses to read.

It puts us in a challenging place as parents. Activity is as beneficial as reading and yet, we need to choose which hills to die on. We’ve decided to fight hard to get him outside to play with his brothers.

What was his response?

He wrote a book about us at school called, “The Man Who Was Obsessed with Books” (enter eyeroll here).

Sparking Their Unique Gifts

I’m reminded time and time again how different my boys are. Each have their own gifts, skills, and abilities. It’s just easier sometimes to group them together and expect the same result from each of them.

God has made them exactly as they should be…curious, energetic, thoughtful, laid-back…whatever it is, I’m thankful for the work our school does to spark these unique gifts. Even if it is writing a book about the ways their parents are wrong.

Amy and I regularly joke that each of our kids have received the best and worst parts of each of us. What is also true is that God has made each of them incredibly different. And it’s in these differences we can see His handiwork.

So read on, son, chase after your passions, and discover God in all sorts of stories.