A few nights ago during our nighttime devotion Mark was waxing eloquent and spent a very long time reviewing with the children the meaning of the material he had just read to them.  This involved him asking a lot of questions to be sure they understood the terminology used and the meaning of the parable read.  (He had just read the parable of the Sower from this devotional book - see also Matthew 13:3-8; Mark 4:3-8; and Luke 8:5-8 - which I highly recommend. )

We learned that night just how profitable it is to ask questions and not to just assume that everyone understands what has been read.

Mark:  What is soil?                         

All the children raise their hands. Mark calls on Caleb (almost 6).

Caleb:  It is something Mom uses when she makes pizza.

Huh?!  Mark and I look at one another dumbfounded. Caleb surely knows what soil is.

Mark:  What do you mean something Mom uses when she makes pizza?

Caleb: Soil, SOIL! You know you spread it on the pizza pan.

Huh? Then understanding starts to dawn…

Caleb:  Oil! Oil! Soil.

Of course! Grin. Oil.

I wonder what he was thinking during the reading of the parable if he thought that the farmer was scattering the seeds in good oil.  Hee, hee…btw, he did know what soil was.

Here is another funny that happened this morning this time between Bess (age 2 ½) and myself. (At the time Bess was being rather unpleasant and demanding that I give her some milk.)

Me:  Bessie, you may not make demands of momma. You need to ask me nicely if you want some milk.

Bess:  I’m NOT a man!

Huh?

(Get it…demands/man. Hee, hee.)

Where can you go from there? Nothing more need be said.

Grin.

And this (not being a man) goes back to a “conversation” she had with her dad where he said something to the effect of “get it man?” to her and she promptly told him “I’m not a man!” She came in later (I wasn’t there during the original conversation) and told me, “Mom, dad called me a man. I’m NOT a man.  I’m a Bessie.”

Yes, she definitely is and she tells me so all the time…

“Mom, I’m a Bessie.”