Mom Heart Moments #192

If there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.

WHEN JOEL AND NATHAN WERE around nine and seven, Clay and I were very aware of trying to cultivate an appetite for excellence in them. One decision we made was not to let them watch Saturday morning cartoons. One Friday afternoon, the boys and I looked at a lovely painting of two boys behind a barracks, playing cards while soldiers trained. We talked about what story the painting was trying to tell, what the boys might have been like, and what it means to be a soldier during wartime.

The next day, I let them spend some time with friends nearby. As we were driving home, Joel asked me, “Mommy, why aren’t we allowed to watch Saturday morning cartoons like our friends?”

When we got home, I took out some paper and scribbled a simple stick-figure drawing of two boys. I asked, “What do you think of my drawing? Is it beautiful? Is it interesting? What kind of story is it telling?” Joel said, “Mama, it isn’t interesting at all and doesn’t have a story.”

I asked, “Why was the painting we talked about yesterday interesting to you?” He responded, “Well, because it had real people and color. I could imagine the two boys in it being Nathan and me. It told an interesting story.”

I said, “That’s exactly right. And do you know why you were able to appreciate those things? Because I’ve tried to feed your mind the very best mind foods I can. I don’t let you watch the junk food and sugars of Saturday morning cartoons because of what I know they will do to your mind and spirit. I want to feed your mind with good things so you’ll have a healthy mind and imagination to create things like the painting of the two boys.”

God doesn’t want us to let mediocrity crowd out excellence in our minds; He wants us to train our appetites to appreciate beauty and excellence. How do you do this in your home?