A Camp-In, A Candle, S'mores & Priorities

Jen has been working nights for the past week, so I get to play Mr. Mom.

I hate it when Jen's not around, but the girls & I usually try to cope with it by doing some special, out-of-the-ordinary, or unusual things. Last night was Jen's last night on this job, so the girls & I decided to spend our last day & night without Mommy in grand fashion!

We started with a full day at the Louisiana Children's Museum (that place is really neat!), then came home for about an hour to visit with Mommy while we had the chance (she only has a couple of hours between waking up & driving back to the set). After some dinner, we decided to go to Whole Foods & Wal-Mart to do the grocery shopping for Jen.

Somewhere along the way, one of the girls shouted out that she loves camping (even though they've never been), so we decided to have a camp-out in the back yard, complete with s'mores (of course!). I checked the weather & learned that rain was forecast for the entire night... And the lightning flashing in the sky pretty well confirmed the forecast in my mind.

So, now what? The girls were SO excited, & I wanted their last night without Mommy to be fun so as to minimize the chances of wailing songs of "I want my mommy" echoing throughout the house... Seriously.

Then I got an idea: They don't really care at this point where the camp out is as long as it's not in their beds! (Thank You, Jesus, for this insight!) So, I asked them, "Since it's gonna rain outsie tonight..."

I had an idea in mind, but Hosanna beat me to it: "Let's have a camp out in the living room!"

"Great idea, Sweetie!" I called back while the other two shouted their approval.

Then I added, "And maybe we can make the s'mores over a candle or something," not really knowing how I was gonna pull off that part of the deal.

"Yeah!!" three little-girl voices cheered for my idea.

So, we made a base camp in the living room, put a candle on the coffee table & toasted marshmallows for s'mores. It was a very simple set-up, really, but it really was special to them.

And to me.

It's times like this that my priorities get re-aligned... When I remember what my first ministry is to 3 little girls who may have several pastors in their lives, but only one Daddy.

And I'm it.