He has a sweet heart

I have to share a story about Nathan from this week that has made me very proud to be his mother, and has also been very humbling to know how powerfully God is working in his young heart.  A few days ago I was driving all four boys somewhere by myself and I started talking about how great Jimmy is as a husband and dad.  I was exhorting them to learn well from him.  Nathan was concerned about several things--how was he going to learn to be a good husband and dad?  Those things seem hard to a 6-year-old!  And here was the winner (out of nowhere), "How will I learn how to spend my money?!" So he and I had a brief conversation about wise spending habits, the number one being that we always first give part of our money to God.

Fast forward to this weekend.  Jimmy had a few jobs at church he said he'd pay Nathan to do (at the whopping rate of $1 a day!).  By Saturday night Nathan had $3.  He told me he wanted to give one of his dollars to church, referencing our previous conversation that we always give our firstfruits to God.  (And 33%--quite the offering!)  Then he said that instead of giving me a paper dollar, he'd give me four quarters, "because if I give a paper dollar, the church can only give it to one person, but if I give four quarters, the church can give it to four people."  I ended up carrying 10 dimes into worship, at his request, to put in the offering.  I admit that since no one else knew the story I felt a little foolish putting 10 dimes into the offering basket.  But the sincerity of this child, and how pleased God is with his simple act of obedience, nearly brought me to tears.