Moments: Could you bless your sister?

I have friends who have seven kids.  They live on a sprawling five acres in  a farm style, two-story home that’s painted country blue. And yes, it does have a wrap around porch and a red barn out back.  My boys love to visit them because they are a great family and because they have motorcycles, a trampoline, air soft guns, zip lines and more.  

I remember my husband and I sitting at the kitchen table one night after dinner; talking with our friends. Every few minutes one of their younger kids would come in and ask their father a question.  He would answer and we would pick up our conversation.  After a few times he asked one of his older kids who was walking by, “Could you bless your sister and help her with what she’s trying to do?”  

The phrasing of his questions struck me.  “Could you bless your sister?”  I loved that it wasn’t, “Could you do me a favor?”, or “Can you do your sister a favor?”.  In that simple question he was giving his child a tangible example of what it means to choose to be a blessing.  He honored the older child with the choice and provided for the need of the younger.

May we look for opportunities to teach our kids to be a blessing to each other.  


Romans 12:13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.