Values so clear they don't need to be said

What do you do before anything else?

Yesterday, at church, we rededicated our recently rebuilt piano. Several piano pieces were played throughout the service by people in the congregation.

The sermon included a story from the childhood of one of our pianists. Someone I consider to be one of the best I know. Her mom had her practice at the piano for 30 minutes every morning. Starting at age five. And she couldn’t leave for school until she was done.

Now, we can certainly debate whether or not this mother had the right priorities or not. But what we can clearly see her priorities. “In this family music is more important than school” didn’t need to be said. It was just true.

Contained within that story is a two-fold lesson:

• Make your family priorities so clear you can’t miss them.

• Make the most of the morning.

Pretend you’re a stranger and you walk into your home, what’s the first thing you’d notice? Family photos? Kids art on the walls? A prominently displayed cross? A grand piano taking up all the space in the living room?

Whatever it is, it’s important. It doesn’t just leave an impression when you have company over for the first time, but on your kids as well. What is the first thing they see when they walk into the place they call home?

I’ve written before about how morning is a great time to fit fitness into your day as a dad. But this got me thinking, morning is also an important time for your kids to get their day started on the right foot. This could mean lots of things: giving them time to create, having them join you in the weight room or just connecting in simple ways before sending them off to school.

You don’t have to be a rigid taskmaster at the piano bench (in fact, I suggest you don’t) but it’s worth taking some time to think about how the structure of your life is communicating your priorities.