Lessons From Levi (The List)

I’ve learned a lot over the few weeks watching Levi through the lens of faith. Watching his movements, actions, and observing through spiritual eyes have been extraordinary. I have been pleasantly surprised watching Levi do things I never thought a child his age could do.

If you’ve been keeping up with the many posts I have written, thank you for reading and watching Levi mesmerize. If you haven’t and you’ve happened on to this post, this post is for you. I have compiled all Lessons From Levi here so that you didn’t miss a one. So… Here we go.

Lessons From Levi – The exhaustive edition.

• Faith – Tomorrow, you may need to make a big step. This year may see you in a place to make a big step. Be faithful. Hold on to God and make a step. It may kick you in the butt in the process but you’ll succeed.
• In His Image – People should be saying of us, “You are your Father’s son/daughter. There is no denying it.”
• Selfishness – Christians aren’t just part of people’s life, they’re in their life. They get to know others so that they know how to pray for them, communicate with them, encourage them and serve them.
• Failure – The alternative to failing is not doing anything and producing nothing. It’s ok if we fall. Cry for a moment. Get back up and start walking again.
• Getting In Trouble – The last thing I should do is avoid the very one who loves me with an utmost love and knows what’s best for me and cares enough for me to show me what’s right.
• Dirty Diapers – His grace has removed our poopiness and exchanged it for beauty (Isaiah 61:3). But only if we let Him change our poopy diaper and throw it out!.
• Reflecting God – I think God designed humans that way simply because He wants us to replicate Him. He created us in His image, so He wants us to mirror His character, His attributes, and His heart.
• Just Say No – Thanks to Levi, when I tell him no, I’m reminded that God tells me no. I do it for the best of Levi, and God does it for the best of me.
• Don’t Be A Fake – So what have I learned from Levi that you should too? Eat the food or put it up. But quit being fake and pretending you’re gonna partake!

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Don’t Be Fake)

I hate cold food that should be eaten hot. Grilled cheese should be eaten hot. Pizza should be eaten hot.Chicken nuggets should be eaten hot. Fish sticks should be eaten hot. But… for some reason Levi likes them cold… or maybe hot. Maybe he’s just indifferent because he sure takes a while to eat supper.

Sometimes, Levi likes to walk around carrying a bite of something with no intentions on eating it at all. He’ll carry a piece of grilled cheese, vanilla wafer, goldfish cracker, or potato chip laying it down for a moment then picking it up as if he has plans to eat it only to carry it around further. He won’t allow the piece of food to nourish his body. He finds more pleasure in walking around with it with the appearance he’s eating.

I’m not sure what he gets out of this. It’s not like he’s trying to hoard it from other kids. Just yesterday we found a goldfish cracker in his onesie. It was like he was stashing it to save it for later. Funny though when it fell out as we were changing him, he grabbed it and stuck it in his mouth. Crazy boy.

Here’s the irony. We do the same with our bibles. We carry it with us just to lay in the backseat forever. (Maybe this is your way of staying off car burglars). You may carry it in your book bag with great intentions of reading it at work or school. I guarantee you or you know of someone who leaves it out on their coffee table for all to see, dusting it occasionally. Got one in your trunk? Under your arm rest in your car? On your night stand?

The point is you never read the stinkin’ thing. You just carry it around or leave it in plain sight to put on this facade that you read it. Who are you fooling? I can’t stand fake people. If you’re not going to read it, put it up, quit carrying it around. It’s useless. Because if you needed it, you wouldn’t know where to turn to if you had too. You don’t read it enough to familiarize yourself with what God says.

So what have I learned from Levi that you should too? Eat the food or put it up. But quit being fake and pretending you’re gonna partake! (Hey, that rhymed).

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Just Say No)

You know that face. That bottom lip puckers out, then they start to build a flood of tears, it’s already been a minute and no sound has come out of their mouth yet, then all of a sudden…

WHAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH!!!!!!!

At first it’s hilarious. My wife and I have to turn from his view because it’s the cutest darned thing a toddler does. But that doesn’t mean I like it. No parent likes to see their child hurting. No parent wants to know that their child is displeased. I’d say from most parents I’ve talked to, they want their child to always have it better than they did. That might be where I have to disagree.

You see, I believe my parents pretty much got it right. They knew how to love me, they knew how to discipline me, they knew how to give me things, and they knew how to say no. That’s where we mess up a lot as parents. We fail to say no because we live in this lie that we want our kids to have it better than we did.

I know that saying no is the right thing to do sometimes. It’s for his safety or teaching him. He doesn’t need to have it better than we did. He needs to be trained up right and respect when he can and can’t have. This teaches patience, discipline, and proper attitude towards things. If I was to not say no to him, he’d grow up thinking he can run all over me, his father, and get everything he wants ultimately becoming a disaster in society.

Kids need to be taught no. The hardest thing is telling them, knowing you’ll get the previously mentioned tantrum. As parents we need to be ok with upsetting our children in this way because we’re teaching them how to establish boundaries on what they can and cannot have.

I bet God hates to tell us no. I also think that God is the most wisest, most intellectual, most loving, most caring, and most merciful being.

And I get told no… OFTEN! I’m sure if you follow God, you get told no… OFTEN! God has no problem telling us no. Because He knows what’s best for us and has a better idea for what we need.

Thanks to Levi, when I tell him no, I’m reminded that God tells me no. I do it for the best of Levi, and God does it for the best of me.

That doesn’t mean I like it!

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Reflecting God)

I was busy one day hanging some speakers in my living room and I was using a level with a laser on it to makes sure my speakers were congruent and level. I set the level down and forgot to put it up through the excitement of now having surround sound. Next thing I saw was Levi taking the level and holding it up to the wall just as he had previously seen his daddy do. I was more amazed in his pursuit to be like me  than my surround sound for a moment.

Just recently, we’ve been trying to teach him words.

fruit = poot

thank you = dan tu

stuck = tuck

He sees me throw a ball, he throws it. He sees me fly a toy boat, he’ll fly a toy boat. He sees me walk down steps, forget crawling them, he wants to walk the steps. When he sees me do stuff, he wants t do it the same way. thankfully, through the influence of the Holy Spirit, I can teach Him things through my character that are Godly.

In the same respect, I think God designed humans that way simply because He wants us to replicate Him. He created us in His image, so He wants us to mirror His character, His attributes, and His heart. God wants us to be our own individual selves with a Godly designed core of DNA that gives us a desire to be more like Him even though we are individually created.

It’s really neat to see him grow and learn and do the things we teach him to do. It’s also neat to watch those who were far from God accept Jesus, and lean and grow in His teachings and be outstanding people. I look back on where I was years ago and see what God has done in my life and how I’ve grown in Him, and it excites me all the more to watch Levi grow up.

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Dirty Diapers)

I don’t like poopy diapers. Let’s just get that out now. But when you have a toddler that’s yet to be potty trained, you pretty much have to deal with poopy diapers. Crazy thing is, Levi doesn’t like to be changed when he has a poopy diaper.He heavily protests going to his room to be changed. He quite literally throws a temper tantrum and we have to practically force him to sit still to change him.

Yeah reminds me of some Christians who like wallowing in their poop. They don’t wanna change but they sure like crying about being messy. Yet when they have the diaper of change right in front of them they cry about having to be changed. It’s amazing the foothold sin can have on a person.

Since we’re on the poopy diaper subject, you know when you walk in to a room that has a trash can full of poopy diapers? Gosh, it stinks! Occasionally I’m the one that has to take it out. It stinks up the whole room. That crappy stink can muster its way into the whole house if you let it.

That reminds me of what God does with out poopiness. He removes it from the East to the West (Psalm 103:12) no longer to be remembered… or no longer to stink up the place cause we all know your poopiness doesn’t just stay in the room. That smell goes everywhere. His grace has removed our poopiness and exchanged it for beauty (Isaiah 61:3). But only if we let Him change our poopy diaper and throw it out!.

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Getting In Trouble)

Disciplining Levi seems to be a simple thing to do. I can give him that look and he knows he’s in trouble. When I take things away from him, he starts to cry. When I sternly use my voice towards him he’ll cry. He knows when Daddy means business and he doesn’t take it lightly. He cries and when he does cry, I’m not talking the sniffles. He goes in to hyperventilation. He doesn’t like it when Daddy’s mad.

I don’t like it either.

One thing I’ve seen Levi do I’m not sure I’ve seen any other child do is when Levi feels like Daddy is mad, he’ll cry hard and walk towards Daddy with his arms up wanting to be held. I don’t know about you but when I get in trouble, the last person I want to be comforted by is the person who has scolded me. I don’t want to even see that person. Stay away.  Not Levi.

Levi wants to be held. I’m no psychologist so I don’t know why he does this. But what it has taught me is when I make God mad, when I sin intentionally (and we all do), when I upset or disappoint God and shame rains down on me, I shouldn’t run from God. I should run towards God. The last thing I should do is avoid the very one who loves me with an utmost love and knows what’s best for me and cares enough for me to show me what’s right.

Thanks Levi, for teaching Daddy, to run to God when I have done something wrong, not away from God!

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Failure)

Levi has taught me a lot about being afraid of failure. When he started walking, he fell a lot. I mean a lot. He still continues to fall often but he gets right back up. He may cry for a moment on a few occasions, but he just wants affirmation that he’s ok. Every time he falls, though, he gets right back up and keeps on walking.

What he has taught me is not to be afraid to fall. Not necessarily being reckless but controlled chaos. In other words taking risks at being creative. When we tend to be fearful of falling, we don’t take chances and growth can’t happen. We have to be willing to step out and try new things. Regardless if Edison really did say he didn’t fail 1,000 times, that he learned 1,000 ways not to create the light bulb, the lesson is still the fact that failure doesn’t happen when we learn from the mistakes we’ve made.

This is the thing I’m learning in leading worship at church. Give it a shot, If it fails, so what. We don’t have recording labels there watching us ready to sign. We don’t have TED there seeing if what we do will be the next world-changing thing. We have God ready to embrace us worshiping Him. We have a church there ready to celebrate God in our new ideas. We have a great opportunity to see God in new ways.

The alternative to failing is not doing anything and producing nothing.

It’s ok if we fall. Cry for a moment. Get back up and start walking again.

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Selfishness)

One Day, Carrie poured herself some water and poured Levi some milk. After drinking a little of his milk, he saw Carrie’s cup and wanted some of her drink. He didn’t know it was water but when he tried it, he made a scowl and picked up his milk.

His milk was much better tasting than Carrie’s water.

Adults do the same thing. They see what others have and think it’s better than what they have. Most times they end up disappointed because in trying to gain what others have it didn’t reach the expectation they thought it would.

On the other hand, Christians aren’t just part of people’s life, they’re in their life. They get to know others so that they know how to pray for them, communicate with them, encourage them and serve them.

Carrie knows Levi likes milk more than water. What kid doesn’t? As a Christian we know these things about others who are in our life. Christians care about others enough to care about them more than ourselves. If you’re a Christian, you’re called to be a servant. So serve others, with love and not through gritted teeth.

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others. (Philippians 2:3, 4 NIV84)

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I'm learning life lessons watching him grow

Lessons From Levi (Faith)

Levi doesn’t want to crawl down steps. He wants to step down steps like a big boy. You know what’s wrong with that? First, his balance isn’t good enough. Second, his leg is as tall as one step is. That makes for interesting foot planting while the other foot is practically kicking his butt as he steps.

I think he knows the risk involved with being bold enough to try making such large steps at such a young age. He holds on to me or my leg as he does it. He’s successful and has yet to fall. Partly because he’s hanging on. Also because he’s just bold enough to try things so daring.

Shouldn’t we have that same boldness. It’s called faith; being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Levi sees the step being made successful and has hope he can do it, obviously through me his father. Our Heavenly Father has the same desires in us, that we would make steps of faith and become successful in the things we do in His name through Him.

Remember when Joshua told the priests they needed to walk into the FLOODED river Jordan to make the waters part. They could have easily asked why don’t the waters part then we’ll walk. But that’s not the way God works. He wants to see our faith (certain of things unseen and sure of our hope) then he acts. He’s not going to fail. He has the power to do, we just have to have the faith to be faithful in His doing.

What did James say? “But someone will say, ‘You have faith; I have deeds.’ Show me your faith without deeds, and I will show you my faith by my deeds.”

Tomorrow, you may need to make a big step. This year may see you in a place to make a big step. Be faithful. Hold on to God and make a step. It may kick you in the butt in the process but you’ll succeed.

*Levi is my 2-year-old and I